True perfection is three matches away.
If all goes as planned, the No. 9 Northwestern women’s tennis team will face the Fighting Illini in the final round of the Big Ten tournament this weekend in Columbus, Ohio.
Illinois, seeded No. 2 in the Big Ten, lost only one conference match this season – to the top-seeded, undefeated Wildcats.
NU (19-4, 10-0 Big Ten) took the doubles point and the first two singles matches to go up 3-0. Illinois fought back to tie the score at three, setting up the deciding match between NU senior Shannon Duffy and Illinois’ Tiffany Ekloy.
The match went down to the wire in a three-set nail-biter, but Duffy prevailed, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Last season, the Cats eliminated the Illini in the semifinals 4-1 en route to winning the tournament for the second straight season.
“Illinois will be pretty fired up this year,” Duffy said. “They’ve beaten us the past couple years, and it could be a showdown in the finals. They will be the most hungry for us.”
The Cats begin their title defense Friday, taking on the winner of the matchup between eighth-seeded Minnesota and ninth-seeded Purdue. In the regular season, NU dominated Purdue 7-0 and downed Minnesota 6-1. The Cats also defeated the Golden Gophers in last year’s Big Ten final.
For the tournament, Duffy will move up from the No. 5 singles spot to No. 3, replacing sophomore Marine Piriou.
NU coach Claire Pollard said she decided to scramble the lineup after watching Duffy win both of her matches last weekend. Duffy returned to the lineup after missing more than a month of action with mononucleosis.
“I never want to penalize a player for being sick,” Pollard said. “I didn’t want to put too much pressure on her last weekend, but she’s back and she looks healthy. She deserves to play there.”
Duffy said that despite feeling sluggish and tired Saturday, she rebounded physically for Sunday’s match against Ohio State.
With all their starters playing at full strength, the Cats aren’t feeling any pressure going into the tournament.
“We are not satisfied at this point,” Pollard said. “But we have another job to do and we’re going to get it done.
“Beating a team for the second time is always more difficult, but it’s also harder for them to beat us having already lost.”
According to Duffy, if the Cats meet fourth-seeded Ohio State again, the match will be more challenging because they will be on the Buckeyes’ home court.
“They’re going to have a couple hundred fans and they’re a pretty emotional team,” Duffy said. “But we expect it and we will be prepared for it.”
On Sunday against the Buckeyes, the Cats lost their first doubles point in Big Ten play this year, before going on to claim a 5-2 victory. Duffy said the failure to realize one of NU’s preseason goals – winning every doubles point – will be a motivational force during the tournament.
Pollard said the doubles point traditionally favors the weaker team.
“Players who are not as good play better doubles than singles,” she said. “They can relax and share the pressure. It favors everyone who plays us. When the singles come, they are on their own against a great player.”
The top five seeds in the tournament get a bye on Thursday and will begin play Friday.
Duffy said the bye will help the Cats, giving them an extra day to rest.
“We’ll have a soccer game on Thursday and then the banquet that night,” Duffy said. “Friday we have a match, Saturday we’ll have a great match and hopefully we’ll clinch it on Sunday.”
In the tournament last year, the Cats went in as the No. 3 seed and beat Indiana 4-0, Illinois 4-1 and Minnesota 4-3 in the finals.
If NU claims the conference championship, it will be guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament and will host the regionals.
Last year the Cats had to travel to Tulsa for the first and second rounds of the NCAAs.
“It won’t disrupt our schedule as much, and it’s nice to sleep in your own bed,” Duffy said of the possibility of playing at home in the NCAAs. “And when you play a good team, you need all the support you can get.”
Pollard said the prestige of hosting regionals would help the Cats’ program.
“We’re trying to get recognition from the tennis world,” she said. “We’re experiencing new heights of success – we get excited about little things. The idea of being up there with the elite of tennis makes us like little kids in a candy store.”
