'Cats Sweep Youngstown State to Close Out Opening Weekend

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern men's tennis (1-2) defeated Youngstown State in a 4-0 sweep on Sunday evening to close out a weekend of action at Combe Tennis Center. The victory came after the 'Cats fought hard, but fell to both Vanderbilt, 6-1, and Louisville, 4-1, earlier on in the weekend.

To open action against the Penguins (1-1), the 'Cats came out dominant in doubles play. The duo of Greyson Casey and Carter Pate wrapped up a quick 6-1 victory at the No. 1 position, and were followed in short order by Ethan Schiffman and Cooper Han, who clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win at No. 3.

With the lead in hand, Northwestern continued to roll in singles play. The 'Cats won first sets on four of six courts, including a decisive 6-1 opening set for Pate. He then finished off his second singles win of the weekend with a 7-5 second set to put the 'Cats up 2-0.

Pate was followed by Schiffman, who also won in straight sets. His 6-3, 6-4 victory was good for the first of his Wildcat career. From there, Casey provided the final blow for Northwestern, winning a 6-3, 6-4 match to clinch the 4-0 team victory.

Despite losses in the earlier matches, the Wildcats got a pair of stand-out performances from Pate and junior transfer Cyrus Mahjoob, who both upset ranked opponents in singles action.

Against Vanderbilt (3-0), Pate came out on top of an incredibly tight battle with No. 62 Pablo Martinez Gomez at No. 1 singles. The match was neck-and-neck all the way through, beginning with a first-set tiebreak that narrowly went Pate's way, 8-6. After dropping the second set 3-6, Pate battled back to another tiebreak game in the third set. Once again, he came out on top, defeating Martinez Gomez 7-2 in the tiebreak to finish off the first ranked victory of his collegiate career, as well as his first career victory at the No. 1 position.

Mahjoob's upset came in the first half of Sunday's doubleheader, as the 'Cats took on Louisville (4-1). Facing No. 122 Hamza El Amine, Mahjoob got the job done in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-4 to secure his first win as a Wildcat.

With the first weekend of play behind them, the 'Cats will remain home to host IU Indy and Cleveland State in a doubleheader at Combe Tennis Center next Saturday, Jan. 24. The morning match is set to begin at 10 a.m. CT, with the second contest to follow at 5:30 p.m. CT.

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