Sept. 18, 2008

EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern men's tennis team begins its fall season at the 33rd Annual Milwaukee Tennis Classic at the Western Racquet Club in Milwaukee, Wis., Sept. 19-21.

The 'Cats will face Marquette, Ball State, and Big Ten foe Wisconsin in singles and doubles competition. The schedule of events is listed below.

The Wildcats' Alexander Thams (Stockholm, Sweden/Enskilda Gymnasiet) , Philip Kafka (Dallas, Texas/Greenhill), Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid), Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill), Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet), Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck), and Eric Spector (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) are all set to play in the tournament.

Head coach Arvid Swan's team has a mix of experience and youth, ranging from veterans junior captain Sanborn and senior Marc Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga./University of Nebraska-Independent Study H.S.) to four highly touted incoming freshmen.

In his first season at Northwestern, Swan recruited the 12th-ranked freshman class in the nation, according to tennisrecruiting.net. Spector and Graves, both named to the 2008 National High School Tennis All-American Team, are joined by two international recruits, Reitz and Lorcan Kelleher (Dublin, Ireland).

The schedule for the Milwaukee Tennis Classic is as follows:

Friday, Sept. 19:
9 am - (Singles) Northwestern vs. Wisconsin
11 am - (Doubles) Northwestern vs. Ball State
1 pm - (Singles) Marquette vs. Ball State
3 pm - (Doubles) Marquette vs. Wisconsin

Saturday, Sept. 20:
9 am - (Singles) Marquette vs. Northwestern
11 am - (Doubles) Northwestern vs. Wisconsin
1 pm - (Singles) Ball State vs. Wisconsin
3 pm - (Doubles) Marquette vs. Ball State

Sunday, Sept. 21:
9 am - (Singles) Northwestern vs. Ball State
11 am - (Doubles) Wisconsin vs. Ball State
1 pm - (Singles) Marquette vs. Wisconsin
3 pm - (Doubles) Marquette vs. Northwestern