It’s time for the Northwestern women’s tennis team to play with the big kids, as the Wildcats travel Thursday to Madison, Wis., for the start of the 2002 Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Women’s Team Indoor Championships.
After two weeks of dual-match play against lower-ranked teams, No. 17 NU (3-1) will square off against some of the nation’s best teams in the ITA tournament, hosted by Wisconsin.
The tournament, which invites sixteen schools every year, will provide an excellent opportunity for the Cats to prove themselves as one of the nation’s elite.
“It’s a great honor to be invited,” NU coach Claire Pollard said. “Most of the teams are William & Mary-caliber, so it’s a great chance to redeem ourselves.”
No. 20 William & Mary, ranked No. 49 in the previous poll, handed the Cats their only loss of the season in a 6-1 upset Jan. 26.
But many of NU’s opponents this weekend will be even better than William & Mary.
Among the participants will be No. 1 Stanford, winner of the ITA tournament three of the last four years. Stanford, which has won 60 of its last 61 matches, is returning five of its six singles starters from last year’s NCAA title-winning team.
But that’s not all that awaits the Cats in Madison. Also vying for the title are No. 2 Duke, No. 4 Vanderbilt and No. 5 Georgia.
No. 7 Southern California, the team that eliminated NU from last year’s NCAA tournament in the Round of 16, will also compete.
The weekend features 15 of the nation’s top-25 singles players – including NU junior Marine Piriou, who is currently listed at No. 9 – according to the most recent ITA Poll.
The much-hyped competition has NU freshman Andrea Yung anxious but ready for a tough fight.
“It’s my first team tournament,” said Yung, who holds a 3-1 record in singles play. “And since this is a very prestigious tournament with many of the top schools contending, it’s definitely going to be a challenge.”
NU performed well in last year’s ITA Indoor, toppling then-No. 8 California-Los Angeles before being eliminated in the second round.
Play begins today for unseeded NU with a first-round match against No. 4 Vanderbilt, the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Teams will play one round each day, with double-loss elimination. The tournament concludes Sunday with the championship match.
The Cats are coming off of back-to-back 7-0 sweeps of Brigham Young and Utah and head into the tournament feeling both optimistic.
“We are slowly gaining confidence with each match,” Yung said.
