For the second straight year, the Northwestern women’s tennis team’s showdown with rival Notre Dame came down to the No. 6 singles match. And once again, a Wildcats underclassman came up big with a three-set win to clinch a 4-3 victory.
This year, sophomore Ruth Barnes won five straight games in the third set to close out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 decision over Fighting Irish freshman Sara Jane Connelly. The triumph was the first of two victories over the weekend for the 19th-ranked Cats, who also topped Iowa 6-1 on Sunday.
NU traveled to South Bend on Saturday looking to keep its unofficial title as the premier team in the Midwest, an honor which Notre Dame had held for years until the Cats’ win in Evanston last year. The match got off to an inauspicious start for NU, which lost the doubles point for the first time in nearly two months. The Cats rebounded with a straight-set victory at No. 1 singles from junior Marine Piriou, ranked No. 25 in the country. NU senior Simona Petrutiu lost at No. 4, but senior Lia Jackson and freshman Andrea Yung bounced back with victories at No. 2 and No. 5, respectively, putting the Cats up 3-2 with two matches to go. But 67th-ranked Jessica Rush lost in straight sets to Notre Dame’s Lindsey Green, setting up the deciding match at No. 6.
Fortunately for NU, Barnes thrived on the pressure.
“I find that I really enjoy situations like that,” Barnes said. “It was definitely a lot of pressure, but we took the entire squad on the trip so there were 15 people cheering me on. That made it easier for me to concentrate on moving my feet and hitting the shots I needed to win.”
Barnes added that she was aided by watching Jackson’s win.
“I was playing next to Lia,” she said, “and I would see her and we really fed off each other’s successes.”
NU coach Claire Pollard expressed her happiness with the team’s ability to bounce back from an early deficit, a situation the Cats haven’t found themselves in many times this season.
“I wasn’t happy that we lost the doubles point, but it was a good test to see how we were going to respond,” Pollard said. “They played exceptionally well, but we showed no signs of panic, which was good.
“We also showed some resiliency in that we wouldn’t let them get the better of us. It’s always tough to play indoors on their home court.”
NU showed no signs of a letdown against the Hawkeyes in Evanston, sweeping the doubles point for an quick 1-0 lead. It never looked back.
Pollard was pleased with the match, which she said was closer than the score indicated.
“We easily could have lost the doubles point, but we did a good job staying composed,” Pollard said. “We earned the victory, we didn’t just expect them to give it to us. That’s great as a coach because that’s how you want to win matches.”
The Cats maintained their undefeated record in Big Ten play heading into the conference tournament, held April 25-28. NU finished a perfect 10-0 in the Big Ten last season en route to a third-straight conference championship.
“It’s definitely a confidence builder,” Piriou said of the team’s success within the conference. “It’s great preparation to know the other teams and realize what we have to work on and fine tune for the tournament. We’re very confident and ready to earn our fourth title.”
