EVANSTON, Ill. – Ranked No. 24 in the latest ITA Collegiate Tennis Team Rankings, Northwestern will take on two ranked opponents this weekend. The Wildcats host No. 18 Harvard on Friday night at Combe Tennis Center before traveling to Durham, N.C. to take on the No. 25 Duke Blue Devils.
Last weekend, Northwestern split a pair of matches at ITA Kickoff Weekend, defeating Arkansas, 4-0 in the Ann Arbor Regional Semifinal before falling to No. 4 Michigan by the same scoreline.
Friday night will mark NU’s first match at Combe Tennis Center in almost three weeks. Last time out at Combe, the ‘Cats won both legs of a doubleheader with #19 NC State and Chicago State.
Trice Pickens will look to maintain his perfect 2-0 singles record this weekend. The Cary, N.C. native was ranked No. 110 in the most recent ITA Singles Rankings, released in November. On the doubles court, Pickens has partnered with Natan Spear in every match this season, posting a 4-1 record together.
Steven Forman will also look to protect his unblemished singles record. Last weekend, Forman picked up a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Stefanos Savva of Arkansas to move to 2-0 on the season.
Harvard boasts a 3-1 record this season, defeating NC State and Duke before splitting its ITA Kickoff matches, defeating Columbia, and falling to UNC in Chapel Hill. Three Crimson players appear in the ITA’s Singles Rankings, including Henry von der Schulenburg (No. 22), Harris Walker (No. 46), and Marc Kitri (No. 105). The Crimson’s doubles pairing of Ronan Jachuck and Daniel Milavsky is ranked No. 40 in the ITA Doubles Rankings.
Like Northwestern, Duke also holds a 4-2 record on the season, splitting its ITA Kickoff matches last weekend in Winston Salem, N.C. Garrett Johns ranks No. 4 nationally in the ITA Singles rankings, joining Pedro Rodenas (No. 84) and Andrew Zhang (No. 101) in the Singles Rankings. Zhang also appears in the ITA Doubles Rankings with partner Michael Heller (No. 49).
Following this weekend’s matchups, Northwestern will travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide on Sunday, February 12. Northwestern’s next home match takes place on Friday, February 24 against the Memphis Tigers. Admission at Combe Tennis Center is free all season long.
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