Raleigh Smith sprinted toward court six for the match that would decide the victor of Friday’s match up between the Northwestern Wildcats and Vanderbilt Commodores.
Though the junior had just lost 4-6, 4-6 in a close match, he appeared newly energized as he joined the large crowd gathered to watch Chris Jackman try to force a third set in the final singles match of the day. If Jackman could pull through, the ‘Cats would win.
Unfortunately, Jackman shanked a forehand long while down 5-6 in the second set. As the Vanderbilt faithful celebrated, No. 33 Northwestern was forced to accept a 4-3 loss to the No. 40 Commodores.
Just a few moments earlier, it seemed like Northwestern was poised to come back from the early deficit the team faced after doubles. The ‘Cats had already picked up a 6-4, 6-3 win courtesy of senior Sidarth Balaji when Jackman and Smith each broke their opponent in the second set to get back within striking distance.
Following one hard fought game in which Smith broke back to tie the set, the Miami, Fla. native unleashed a fiery yell and fist pump.
Despite this surge of emotion, Smith would lose his next service game, ultimately leading to another Vanderbilt point.
While No. 1 seed Spencer Wolf of Northwestern used his powerful serve and controlled forehands to beat his Vanderbilt counterpart 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, one too many Wildcats lost their matches. Alex Pasareanu, the fourth ranked player for the ‘Cats, was the only other Northwestern player to earn a point. He defeated his opponent 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) after a second set in which both players won all of their respective service games.
However, the ‘Cats could not afford to split the singles points evenly with the Commodores, as Vanderbilt already held a 1-0 lead following the three doubles matches. In doubles, eight game pro-sets are played, and whichever team wins at least two of the matches gets the sole doubles point. Often, that can make the difference between and losing. On Friday, it certainly did – and head coach Arvid Swan wasn’t happy about it.
“We gotta play better,” Swan said. “We had opportunities all over the board.”
The ‘Cats did indeed have their chances. The second doubles team, comprised of Wolf and freshman Fedor Baev, staved off two break points before losing a game that may very well have been the difference in a 6-8 loss.
As is common in tennis, the top two seeds in singles do not always play together as the top doubles team, and Swan followed this strategy Friday, as Wolf and Smith were used on two different teams. Yet, following the match, Swan said lineups for both singles and doubles may change before matches Saturday against Harvard and Valparaiso. Northwestern (8-2) needs to find the perfect lineup soon, as the No. 47 Crimson will likely be another tough test for the Wildcats.
“We need to play a complete match,” Swan said. “We did not play a complete match today, and it cost us.”
If the ‘Cats can do that, then the next time Smith finds himself sprinting toward the final match, he may very well be headed toward a victory.