Last year, the Northwestern women’s tennis team returned from their Spring Break trip to California stinging from losses to Fresno State and California that dropped the team’s record to 13-4. But the Wildcats won their next 11 matches en route to a second straight Sweet 16 appearance.
In this year’s trip to Los Angeles, No. 13 NU was edged by Pepperdine but rebounded to defeat Harvard, ending the trip with a 12-5 overall record (5-0 Big Ten).
Against the Waves, the Cats swept the three doubles matches to earn the first point, but the Wave came back to take four of six singles matches and win the contest 4-3. Senior Lia Jackson and sophomore Jessica Rush won at No. 2 and No. 3 singles for NU, which lost its first match since Feb. 17 at Duke. Pepperdine improved to 5-11.
“Pepperdine definitely showed up,” junior Marine Piriou said. “When you walk on the court, you know national rankings don’t matter. Anybody can beat anybody.”
The Cats used two come-from-behind victories to defeat Harvard, 4-3. At No. 1 doubles, the pairing of Piriou and Rush overcame an early deficit to win 8-4 and help the Cats again take the doubles point.
Freshman Andrea Yung and sophomore Ruth Barnes took the No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches to put the Cats up 3-0, but after NU lost the first three singles positions, Simona Petrutiu’s duel with Harvard’s Fleur Broughton became the deciding match. The NU junior dropped the first set but came back to win a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 decision.
“Everyone competed hard against Harvard,” Petrutiu said. “It helps you come back when you see your teammates playing hard.”
In both matches over the break, NU continued the dominant doubles play that has been a constant all season. The pairings of Piriou-Rush, Jackson-Petrutiu and Yung-Barnes have turned doubles into a strength for the Cats after their struggles last season. NU has won the doubles point in each of its last 10 matches dating back to a Feb. 9 win over Fresno State, sweeping the doubles matches in six of those contests.
“We’ve been working on doubles for a long time,” Piriou said. “Last year we struggled a little bit, but we’re pretty confident now and we have good pairs.”
The No. 1 singles player praised her pairing with Rush. The tandem has gone 12-2 this season.
“We don’t have to talk too much to know what the other is thinking on the court,” she said. “We definitely aren’t at the net all the time, we play more of a pure doubles game.”
Petrutiu is also happy with her doubles partner. She and Jackson played some matches together last season, but Petrutiu said the two have developed more of a rapport this year.
“We have very complimentary games and we’re a lot more confident,” Petrutiu said. “We’ve been working a lot on doubles and it’s finally paying off.”
Piriou wasn’t sure the Cats would be able to replicate last year’s post-Spring Break winning streak that also included a Big Ten tournament championship.
“It’s hard to compare one year to another,” Piriou said. “This is a very different team, but I think we have a more talented team. We’re excited to play in the tournament and defend our championship.”
