Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: Sports

With a pair of home duals, Northwestern had every intention of ending its four-match losing streak.

The Wildcats' struggles against Big Ten opponents continued. Conference rivals Minnesota and No. 53 Iowa held NU to only three match wins in a pair of 6-1 losses.

"It's always unfortunate when you lose," junior Marc Dwyer said. "It can put a dampener on things obviously."

But Dwyer insisted the Cats' effort was there.

"Everyone had terrific energy and everyone really showed up to play," he said.

NU's doubles play showcased that effort. After splitting the first two matches Saturday against the Gophers, Dwyer and sophomore Alex Sanborn lost a nailbiter at No. 1. But the Cats' top duo let the match slip away in a narrow tiebreaker, dropping the decisive match 9-8 (8-6).

"I wish we would have won that doubles point," coach Arvid Swan said.

The Cats never recovered, losing five of six singles matches. Freshman Andrew McCarthy secured NU's only individual win as the team narrowly avoided its fifth shutout loss in conference play this season. The team's struggles overshadowed McCarthy's first dual victory of his career.

"We've got to keep a level of intensity and focus throughout entire matches, especially when we're playing that many quality players," Swan said. "At the end, we gave away a few points, a couple games that cost us."

There were a lot of matches that could have gone either way, McCarthy said.

Against the Hawkeyes, NU (7-15, 0-9 Big Ten) learned from Saturday's mistakes in doubles, rebounding to take the crucial point and an early 1-0 lead in the dual. Needing victories in only three of six singles matches for the win, Iowa swept NU in singles play.

No. 4 Peter Rispoli's match was as close as the Cats got to a singles win. Rispoli pulled out a close 7-6, (7-4) first set against Iowa's Reinoud Haal. But he fell apart in the second, and dropped the match in a super-tiebreaker for the third set 6-7 (4-7), 6-0 (10-8). Iowa had already clinched the dual.

The Cats have one last opportunity to notch a conference win before the start of the Big Ten championships on April 23 in Iowa City, Iowa. NU will face a Michigan State squad Saturday also seeking its first dual victory in the Big Ten.

The Cats hope to snap their longest losing streak of the spring with a win against the Spartans to close the season on a good note. Dwyer said a win in East Lansing would inject some life into the team's morale.

"It will provide a moral boost and reaffirm our belief that we are a good team," he said. "We can make a run in the Big Ten tournament and hopefully get a couple match wins there and see where that goes."



marcelino-jr@northwestern.edu

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