After a long year on the court, the Northwestern women’s tennis team is fast nearing the climax of its season.
The No. 16 Wildcats (17-4, 6-2 Big Ten) have only two regular-season matches — Saturday versus Iowa and Sunday against Wisconsin — left on the schedule before postseason preparations begin.
“We are getting close to the ultimate goal,” coach Claire Pollard said. “Our pains and aches have diminished and we’re excited about the opportunities in the next month.”
The Cats’ deep lineup has been the reason for their high win total and national ranking. The singles players have all accumulated good individual records.
NU’s six singles players all have a .500 or better conference record and could each finish with 20 or more wins.
No. 2 singles Shannon Duffy has been superb, posting an 8-0 conference record and winning her last nine matches.
Lia Jackson has been solid all year at No. 4 singles and leads the team with 31 wins, tying Duffy’s season record for most wins in a season.
“I don’t pay attention to it because it would put pressure on me,” Jackson said.
Pollard is proud of her players’ accomplishments but continues to place them behind the team’s agenda.
“One of the most important things is that we don’t concern ourselves with individual success,” Pollard said. “The key to our success is that we have six great chances in singles and three in doubles.”
Iowa (9-10, 6-2) and Wisconsin (7-13, 2-6) come to Evanston to conclude the conference season. Last year, Iowa reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament and Wisconsin lost to NU in the finals of the Big Ten tournament.
But this year Iowa has stumbled through a difficult schedule and Wisconsin has been erratic in Big Ten competition.
Iowa sits tied with NU for third place in the Big Ten standings, but the Cats have dominated the all-time series, posting a 23-2 record against the Hawkeyes.
Iowa has been impressive recently, winning six of seven and defeating conference-leading Ohio State. Wisconsin — Sunday’s opponent — has fallen on hard times, losing six of its last seven matches.
Two wins over the weekend would add to the Cats’ recent momentum and give them a five-match win streak heading into next week’s Big Ten tournament.
“Everyone will take care of business (this weekend),” Jackson said. “Right now we’re having fun. We’re cruising, but we still have a way to go.”
