EVANSTON, Ill. – After two weeks off, No. 23 Northwestern men’s tennis will open its Big Ten season against No. 2 Ohio State on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. CT at Combe Tennis Center. Following Friday’s marquee matchup, the ‘Cats will host a doubleheader on Sunday, March 26, beginning with No. 63 Penn State at 10:30 a.m. CT, followed by Chicago State at 6 p.m. CT.
Last time out, the ‘Cats dropped a tight 4-3 match to No. 29 Middle Tennessee. After the Blue Raiders took the doubles point, Ivan Yatsuk claimed a 6-3, 6-2 victory at #2 Singles to even the match at one apiece. Trice Pickens secured a 6-3, 6-3 win at #4 Singles to give the Northwestern a 2-1 lead, before Steven Forman doubled the lead, winning 6-4, 6-4 at #1 Singles. MTSU responded by winning the remaining three matches to clinch the match, 4-3.
No. 2 Ohio State comes to Evanston with a 17-2 record, having just defeated No. 5 Michigan on Sunday. The Buckeyes boast five ranked players in the ITA Singles Rankings, led by No. 12 Cannon Kingsley and No. 15 JJ Tracy. Additionally, three OSU doubles pairings make appearances in the ITA Doubles Rankings, most notably No. 3 Andrew Lutschaunig and JJ Tracy.
No. 63 Penn State begins the weekend with a 13-4 record. The Nittany Lions will visit Evanston on Sunday following a Friday night matchup with Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. The PSU doubles pairing of Sam Bossem and Loren Byers has posted a 10-3 record so far this season. Miko Eala boasts a 16-8 singles record during the 2022-23 season.
Chicago State will play its second match at Combe Tennis Center this season, after being swept 4-0 on Jan. 16. The Cougars are 1-13 on the season.
After the weekend, Northwestern will continue Big Ten play with a swing through Indiana, facing Purdue on Friday, March 31 and Indiana on Sunday, April 2.
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