In her two years as Northwestern women’s tennis coach, Claire Pollard has recruited only two of the players on the current roster for the No. 16 Wildcats.
Pollard has opted for quality over quantity in her two recruiting classes, adding sophomore Lia Jackson and freshman Marine Piriou.
Jackson and Piriou have stepped in immediately on a veteran team and provided stability at the No. 4 and No. 5 singles position this year by amassing 31 and 28 wins, respectively.
Pollard currently fields a team with seven scholarship players. The team has a maximum eight scholarships, and with three seniors on scholarship departing, Pollard can finally add quantity to the recruiting equation.
With senior Katherine Nasser being the only starter from Illinois, Pollard has made it an objective to reach out to Chicago and the surrounding areas. Two of the top 10 players in the nation — Stanford’s Laura Granville and Wake Forest’s Adria Engel — hail from Chicago.
“My goal is to never let a good kid out of the Chicago area,” Pollard said.
Pollard also deals with the issue of whether to recruit overseas or domestically. More than 60 of the top 100 women’s singles players are foreigners, but Pollard sees this statistic as deceptive because only the elite foreign players decide to come to United States and join the American college ranks.
Pollard landed a potential recruit like Piriou from France. But at the same time, Pollard sees a benefit of giving U.S. players a chance.
“It would be in my interest to offer opportunities to American kids,” Pollard said. “Winning the Big Ten is far more meaningful for the American kids. When push comes to shove, Americans feel more attachment and loyalty to a program.”
When Pollard talks to a recruit, she highlights the great bond throughout the team and assures the recruit of her importance on the team, regardless of playing position.
Winning last year’s Big Ten championship and maintaining a high national ranking this year will also grab a recruit’s attention. Now Pollard spends less time sifting through mail from mediocre players and writing to the nation’s best.
“This year, I am getting letters from the good kids,” Pollard said.
THE LAST TIME AROUND: Coaches love to reward seniors for all their hard work, time and success over a four-year period by praising them profusely on Senior Day.
Pollard will not have an elaborate ceremony or rework her lineup for the seniors’ benefit this weekend. Instead, Pollard will make a quick speech to her team and then the Cats will focus on the match at hand.
NU hopes to provide a far more meaningful and lasting event for the seniors than any complimentary speech or ceremony could ever provide.
“Our present to them is getting them to Pepperdine (the site of the NCAA Championships),” Pollard said.
The Cats feature three seniors — Nasser, Jennifer Lutgert and Leigh Weinraub — and each player has special attributes that contribute to the Cats’ framework.
Nasser has been at No. 1 singles for the last three years and won the Big Ten Freshman and Player of the Year honors. But Pollard emphasizes Nasser’s character over her past awards.
“Katherine is the nicest best player around here,” Pollard said. “Typically there is a certain arrogance with a player of her caliber, but Katherine is so humble and unassuming. She buys completely into the team concept.”
Lutgert plays at No. 6 singles and Weinraub teams with junior Shannon Duffy at No. 3 doubles. Although both positions are at the bottom rung of the ladder, Pollard said the Cats’ success heavily relies on winning at those slots.
” The (No.) 6 player gets overlooked, but we don’t overlook her,” Pollard said. “(Jen) is the hardest worker on the team. Playing (No.) 3 doubles is not the most glamorous position on the team. But (Leigh) is rock solid and provides us with a fun and charismatic character.”
As Nasser closes out a productive collegiate career, she remains excited about the postseason possibilities, but will also miss the team moments, relationships and college tennis.
“We’ve developed a little bond and it will be definitely sad and emotional to leave,” Nasser said.
“We’ve worked so hard and the NCAA Championships would be such a reward. We’d love to go to Pepperdine.”
