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Gophers Set to Host Northwestern and Illinois in First Home Weekend
2/25/2021 1:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Minnesota looking to get back on track at Baseline Tennis Center
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The University of Minnesota men's tennis team is set to get back to action this upcoming weekend, hosting a pair of matches against Northwestern and Illinois for their first home matches of the season.
The Gophers (0-2) will first take on the No. 24 Wildcats on Friday, Feb. 26 at 3:00pm before taking on the No. 8 Fighting Illini on Sunday, Feb. 28 at noon. The two matches will serve as the back end of a three-match streak against ranked opponents for the Maroon & Gold.
Setting the Stage
The opening weekend did not go as planned for Minnesota after losing a pair of road tilts, first losing a tight 4-3 contest to Michigan State, before travelling to Ann Arbor and falling to the fourteenth-ranked Michigan Wolverines.
The opening weekend highlight, however, was the doubles pairing of Vlad Lobak and Siim Troost, who went undefeated on the weekend, with a huge upset victory over the No. 2-ranked doubles pairing of Andrew Fenty and Mattias Siimar.
It was Lobak and Troost's second ranked win together as a pairing, and was the school's biggest doubles upset since Mathieu Froment and Jack Hamburg defeated No. 4 Ralf Steinbach and Kevin Metka at the 2014 B1G tournament.
Tale of the Tape - The Wildcats
Northwestern comes into the weekend with a 2-2 record on the season, and is led by two ranked singles players in Dominik Stary and Steven Forman. The Wildcats also house a ranked doubles pairing in Simen Bratholm and Nick Brookes, cementing themselves as one of the top teams in the B1G.
Historically, the series between Minnesota and Northwestern has been as close to even as it gets, with the Gophers holding a slight edge in the series with a record of 52-51-1. The "U" saw its last win against Northwestern on April 20, 2018 via a 7-0 road victory.
Tale of the Tape - The Fighting Illini
Illinois has faced arguably the toughest schedule in college tennis so far this season, already playing in four top-10 tilts, which includes an upset victory over then-No. 1 USC at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Illini (4-2) have four ranked singles players including No. 15 Alex Brown, along with a Top-20 doubles pairing in Brown and Aleksandar Kovacevic.
The Maroon & Gold has struggled as of late against Illinois, dropping the last two contests and holding an all-time series record of 33-43. The Gophers last win in the series was a 4-3 win on March 31, 2017 at Baseline Tennis Center
How to Follow Along:
Follow along on Twitter at @GopherMTennis for live updates throughout the weekend, and look for a recap following this weekend's action on GopherSports.com.