{"id":68924,"date":"2018-03-14T14:17:21","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T19:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=68924"},"modified":"2018-03-14T14:17:21","modified_gmt":"2018-03-14T19:17:21","slug":"wildcats-showed-strong-start-in-big-ten-encounters-despite-coach-swans-leave-of-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildcats-showed-strong-start-in-big-ten-encounters-despite-coach-swans-leave-of-absence\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildcats showed strong start in Big Ten encounters, despite Coach Swan\u2019s leave of absence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Athena Liu<\/strong><\/p>\n

Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Northwestern University’s Men\u2019s Tennis team achieved a good 1-1 start in Big Ten play, after falling to No. 6 Illinois 0-4 on Friday night and knocking off Indiana University 4-2 on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n

The Wildcats fought with high spirits after a tough week when head coach Arvid Swan took a immediate leave of absence due to\u00a0 a personal health issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wish Arvid and his family the best and, in this situation, the team and everyone in Northwestern definitely looks forward to seeing him back at the sideline in the near future,\u201d said Assistant Coach Chris Klingeman, named interim head coach as the team headed into the Big Ten weekend.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"
Assistant Coach Chris Klingeman coaches the doubles match on Sunday. (Athena Liu\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Facing the nationally ranked University of Illinois in Friday\u2019s home game, Northwestern did not manage to enjoy a victory. After taking the doubles point, Illinois continued their strong performance in singles games, claiming three more points at the No.2, No.3 and No.6 spots. The \u2018Cats fought hard but Illinois left few opportunities open. The game finished with the Illini sweeping the Wildcats 4-0.<\/p>\n

Klingeman said he was glad that the team could stay strong and focused on the court\u00a0 without Coach Swan and the tough situation of his leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they managed the situation well and they fought like dogs out there today,\u201d he said Friday after the match with Illinois. \u201cThey just came up short.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the team would need to improve on their performance on pressure points, the coach said. \u201cWe had a lot of deuce point situations today that didn\u2019t go our way,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd with this scoring format, which is the name of the game \u2013 it\u2019s who is going to win these deuce points\u201d that matters.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Antonioni Fasano plays at the No.3 doubles. (Athena Liu\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Northwestern came back in full action on Sunday morning when they beat Indiana with a close 4-2. This is the team\u2019s first victory this March, the first conference game victory this season and the first victory after a three-game losing streak.<\/p>\n

The Wildcats started the singles matches with a 0-1 disadvantage after dropping the doubles point, but soon managed to take control of the games as Ben Vandixhorn, Jason Seidman and AJ Joshi took the first set of their match at the No.4, No.5 and No.6 spots, respectively.<\/p>\n

Seidman finished the match 6-4, 6-3, leading the overall score to a 1-1 tie, while Joshi added another point for Northwestern with a 6-3, 7-6(2) victory over Brandon Lam of Indiana. Although facing challenges in the second set, Vandixhorn took advantage of his powerful serves and delicate volley skills to see off his opponent Bennett Crane with a three-set triumph 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.<\/p>\n

Freshman player Nick Brookes delivered the deciding point at the No.2 spot. He had a slow start, dropped the first set 3-6, but stuck to his attacking strategy and forced his opponent to move around the court for defense. With the support from teammates and audience, the freshman erased the 0-1 deficit and went on to wrap up the game 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 with a goodbye ace.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably one of my strongest serves in the match,\u201d said Brookes on his stirring serve that commanded Sunday\u2019s win for the whole team. \u201cI was just trying to think of that serve as if back on the training court and apply that naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nick Brookes completes a comeback to earn the deciding point in Sunday’s game. (Athena Liu\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since the start of this dual season, Brookes has been moving steadily from No. 4 singles to\u00a0No. 2. He made the most\u00a0of his 6-feet-6-inches in height and his outstanding strength to play more offensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething I really need to do is trying to come forward more,\u201d he said. \u201cIn last couples of weeks I\u2019ve been really trying to focus on that and trying to make some big improvement there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the current situation, the Wildcats needed this win to cheer themselves up and hone their mind-set. \u201cWe\u2019ve had an up-and-down season so far,\u201d said Vandixhorn after Sunday\u2019s game. I think this [victory] was a great morale booster for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klingeman said that the team still needs to work on doubles skills. In many games throughout the season, the Wildcats were just one step away from nailing down the doubles point, but failed to do so.<\/p>\n

Klingeman said he believes these underclassmen need a little more time to trigger the chemistry between each other.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Freshman player Antonioni Fasano and sophomore Chris Ephron celebrate a score at No.3 doubles. (Athena Liu\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis season, we have a couple of younger guys – they haven\u2019t fallen in our way. But I think we can use this to springboard a little bit and get some confidence for the doubles point,\u201d Klingeman said.<\/p>\n

The team will take a two-week spring break before heading to Lubbock, Texas, to play Texas Tech on March 28. The last nine games for the Wildcats in this dual season will all be conference games, starting with a road game against Nebraska on March 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe play one of the toughest tennis conferences in the country,\u201d said the coach. \u201cThe intensity is always high, but there is definitely a little bit more when it comes to the Big Ten season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Ben Vandixhorn dominates the game again Indiana University\u00a0at set three. (Athena Liu\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Athena Liu Medill Reports Northwestern University’s Men\u2019s Tennis team achieved a good 1-1 start in Big Ten play, after falling to No. 6 Illinois 0-4 on Friday night and knocking off Indiana University 4-2 on Sunday morning. The Wildcats fought with high spirits after a tough week when head coach Arvid Swan took a immediate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":451,"featured_media":68925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,3987],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2018"],"yoast_head":"\nWildcats showed strong start in Big Ten encounters, despite Coach Swan\u2019s leave of absence - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildcats-showed-strong-start-in-big-ten-encounters-despite-coach-swans-leave-of-absence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wildcats showed strong start in Big Ten encounters, despite Coach Swan\u2019s leave of absence - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Athena Liu Medill Reports Northwestern University’s Men\u2019s Tennis team achieved a good 1-1 start in Big Ten play, after falling to No. 6 Illinois 0-4 on Friday night and knocking off Indiana University 4-2 on Sunday morning. 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