March 31, 2012

The Minnesota men’s tennis team had its seven-match win streak snapped at No. 53 Northwestern today. The Wildcats escaped with a 4-3 win against the 36th-ranked Gophers.

The loss drops Minnesota to 8-4 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten. It was the first defeat for the Gophers since they lost 6-1 at No. 36 Louisville on Feb. 4.

The Gophers won their ninth straight doubles point behind the tandem of Rok Bonin and Julian Dehn and the surging duo of Leandro Toledo and Juan Pablo Ramirez.

Dehn and Bonin, who are ranked No. 22, improved to 11-0 during the spring season with an 8-4 win against Joshua Graves and Spencer Wolf at No. 1 doubles. Dating back to last season, Dehn and Bonin are 30-3 since they started played together.

At No. 3 doubles, Toledo and Ramirez improved to 8-0 this year with a 9-8 win against Sidarth Balaji and Tobias Reitz.

Minnesota, which lost at No. 2 doubles, is now a combined 21-3 in its last 24 matches in doubles play.

The Gophers jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Julian Dehn dropped Balaji at the fourth spot in singles 6-4, 6-2.

However, Northwestern won the next match as No. 80 Leandro Toledo was upset 7-5, 6-4 by No. 109 Spencer Wolf at No. 2 singles. Toledo had won seven straight matches prior to today.

The Wildcats tied the match 2-2 when Raleigh Smith beat Phillip Arndt 6-3, 6-4 at the third position and went up 3-2 after Gopher freshman Mathieu Froment fell in three sets to Chris Jackman at No. 6 singles.

Junior Rok Bonin rallied to level the match 3-3 with a 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 1 against Josh Graves.

The deciding match came down to fifth singles between a pair of freshmen in Jack Hamburg for Minnesota and Alex Pasareanu for Northwestern. The back-and-forth match went three sets with Pasareanu outlasting Hamburg 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 to secure the win for the Wildcats.  

Minnesota plays at No. 17 Illinois tomorrow. The Gophers upset the Illini on the road last year to beat Illinois for the first time since 1996, ending a 19-match losing streak.

After this weekend, the Gophers host Penn State (April 6) and No. 2 Ohio State (April 8) at Baseline Tennis Center.

Tennis Match Results
Minnesota vs Northwestern
Mar 31, 2012 at Evanston, Ill.
(Vandy Christie Tennis Center)
#53 Northwestern 4, #36 Minnesota 3

Singles competition
1. Rok Bonin (MINN) def. Josh Graves (NU) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5
2. #109 Spencer Wolf (NU) def. #80 Leandro Toledo (MINN) 7-5, 6-4
3. Raleigh Smith (NU) def. Phillip Arndt (MINN) 6-3, 6-4
4. Julian Dehn (MINN) def. Sidarth Balaji (NU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Alex Pasareanu (NU) def. Jack Hamburg (MINN) 7-5, 5-7, 7-5
6. Chris Jackman (NU) def. Mathieu Froment (MINN) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. #22 Julian Dehn / Rok Bonin (MINN) def. Josh Graves/Spencer Wolf (NU) 8-4
2. Raleigh Smith/Alex Pasareanu (NU) def. Jack Hamburg / Phillip Arndt (MINN) 8-4
3. Leandro Toledo / Juan Pablo Ramirez (MINN) def. Sidarth Balaji/Tobias Reitz (NU) 9-8

Match Notes:
Minnesota (8-4, 3-1 Big Ten); National ranking #36
Northwestern (10-6, 3-1 Big Ten); National ranking #53
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,2,3,6,1,5)
Minn won No. 3 doubles 9-8 (2)
T-4:14 A-102