ANN ARBOR, Mich. – No. 24 Northwestern men’s tennis split its dual matches at the ITA Kickoff last weekend, defeating Arkansas 4-0 before falling to No. 4 Michigan by the same score.
The ‘Cats opened the weekend with a big win over Arkansas, handing the Razorbacks their first loss of the season. Northwestern earned its first point by winning on two doubles courts. Pickens/Spear claimed the first victory over the Razorbacks with a 6-2 score before Bratholm/Yatsuk won a thrilling 7-5 match to clinch the doubles point.
In singles, the Wildcats finished Arkansas off with three wins. Simen Bratholm continued his stellar day by coming out on top in his individual match, 7-5, 6-4, then Steven Forman put the ‘Cats a point away from victory after winning in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0. On court six, Gleb Blehker dealt the finishing blow, 7-6 (6), 6-4.
After the shutout on Saturday, Northwestern took on the hosting Wolverines with a ticket to the ITA National Indoor Championship on the line. In doubles, Michigan handed Forman/Nordby a 6-1 loss before Bratholm/Yatsuk defeated No. 14 Young/Fenty, 6-4. That led to a decisive finale on court three, where Pickens/Spear fell to UM, 7-6 (7-2). It was more of the same in singles, where the Wolverines came out on top with three early victories to win overall, 4-0. Two of Northwestern’s losses in singles were to top-20 opponents.
Northwestern will return home Friday to host No. 13 Harvard at Combe Tennis Center before hitting the road for No. 19 Duke Sunday morning. The Crimson have started 3-1 so far on the season with notable wins over No. 21 NC State, the Blue Devils and No. 21 Columbia, while Duke is 4-2 with losses to Harvard and Middle Tennessee as well as a ranked win against No. 23 Auburn. Friday’s match is set to begin at 6 p.m. CT and Sunday’s will begin at 10 a.m. CT.
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