Owners of a 12-match winning streak, the Valpo men's tennis team couldn't be riding any higher entering the NCAA Tournament. The Crusaders, who posted shutouts in both tilts en route to the Horizon League title, meet the 14th-ranked Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday at 1 pm CT.

Weather will ultimately dictate whether the match will be played outdoors at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center or indoors. The latest forecast is calling for a high near 50 degrees and cloud cover. Live stats will be available at either site. If the match is played indoors, pay video will be offered.

Northwestern (25-4) earned hosting privileges by virtue of a dominant regular season that included a 10-1 mark in Big Ten play. Two of the Wildcats' three losses came at the hands of Illinois, which is currently ranked No. 15. NU's other two setbacks occurred against #3 TCU and #5 Ohio State. Northwestern managed to score 25 victories despite a schedule that boasted 21 ranked foes.

Junior Strong Kirchheimer amassed a 28-3 singles record. The North Carolina native played the vast majority of the spring at No. 3, a slot in which Valpo has carved out a 20-5 mark. Konrad Zieba and Ben Vandixhorn joined Kirchheimer in the 20-win club in singles play. Zieba, who is ranked 20th nationally in singles, went 12-6 at No. 1. His showdown with Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) atop singles promises to be must-watch tennis. Schorsch boasts a 29-4 singles mark and is 20-2 since the calendar flipped to 2016. (All 20 of those victories have come in straight-set fashion.)

The No. 6 flight is one of intrigue for both sides. The aforementioned Vandixhorn assembled a 10-2 mark there as part of a 20-5 overall singles record. Kyle Dunn (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac) was a mainstay at No. 6 for the Crusaders this season. Dunn was victorious 16 times in the spring, ten of those coming at No. 6. The junior arrives in Evanston on an eight-match winning streak and one more singles triumph would give him exactly 22 in his first three seasons in Valparaiso.

Valpo has to like its chances in doubles play. 

Schorsch and Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) have been wildly dominant at No. 1, as evidenced by their 27-7 mark. Moreover, the duo possess a 4-3 record versus ranked tandems. Schorsch and Emhardt spent majority of the season in those rankings. They did upend Kirchheimer and Fedor Baev, 8-4, back in October during the ITA Midwest Regional Championships. The Northwestern pair was 14-9 overall at No. 1, but 4-6 during the Big Ten portion of the schedule.

While No. 1 doubles has been up-and-down for the Wildcats, they've excelled at No. 2 and 3.

Zieba and Sam Shropshire have helped Northwestern to a 20-4 ledger at No. 2 while Alp Horoz/Mihir Kumar have won 16 of their 19 tilts at No. 3. 

Dunn and Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) have held their own at No. 3 for the Brown and Gold, having gone 13-4 there. The Crusaders have sent out eight different combos at No. 2, but they seem to have found a keeper in Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) and Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio/Poland). Bacalla and Gardner have won four in a row dating back to April 2nd. 

The winner of Saturday's 1:00 pm CT match between Valpo and #14 Northwestern will face the victor of the #40 Notre Dame/#29 Stanford affair scheduled for 10:00 am CT. Links to the live stats are up at ValpoAthletics.com.