Northwestern women’s tennis coach Claire Pollard will be the first to admit it – her team isn’t the flashiest group.
“We’re a pretty boring team,” she said. “We show up every day, we work hard and our kids have a great attitude.”
Although they may be bland, the No. 19 Wildcats are playing with style. And their record shows it.
At 14-5 (6-0 Big Ten), NU sits atop the conference standings and will try to continue its march through the Big Ten this weekend with home matches against No. 37 Wisconsin (13-5, 6-1) and Minnesota (6-12, 1-6).
The second-place Badgers come to Evanston on Saturday trying to knock the Cats out of first place. Led by senior Vanessa Rauh, Wisconsin has rebounded from last season’s 9-16 record and enters this weekend on a four-match winning streak.
“They’re a team that’s having a better year than they have the last couple years,” Pollard said. “They’re off to a good start, so they’re very confident. We have to be ready to get out on top of them and see how they respond, if they can bring their level of play up to meet ours.”
No. 3 singles player Simona Petrutiu said she thinks the Big Ten’s overall improvement has prepared NU for the Badgers.
“We know they’re a good team, but this year it seems there are a lot of good teams in the Big Ten, so we feel we’re ready,” Petrutiu said. “We’re excited to play because it’ll be a good test for us.”
Double Vision: Pollard continues to rotate the doubles teams of Marine Piriou-Jessica Rush and Petrutiu-Lia Jackson. All season, Pollard has played Piriou and Rush at No. 1 on Saturdays — then rotated the pairs for Sunday’s competitions. Jackson and Petrutiu are ranked No. 22 in the country, with Piriou and Rush not far behind at No. 35.
“I wouldn’t want to have to tell you who’s better right now, and that’s a great thing to have as a coach,” Pollard said.
Put me in, Coach: Pollard said she has been looking for an opportunity to get some of the younger Cats in the lineup, most notably sophomore Stacy Kokx. After posting a 9-8 tournament record her freshman season, Kokx has yet to see dual-meet action this year.
“She’s been doing a great job,” Pollard said. “(Kokx not playing is) a sign more of how well everyone else is doing. It’s just one of those crappy decisions you have to make as a coach.”
Swingin’ in the sun: NU will play outdoors at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center for the first time this season if the warmer temperatures continue. The Cats have ventured outdoors just twice this year, splitting a pair of matches in California over Spring Break.
Petrutiu said she doesn’t think playing outdoors will affect the Cats.
“It’s a little different because it’s a lot slower and there’s wind, so you have to be careful,” she said. “We played outside over (Spring) Break and we’ve been able to practice outside a couple times, so we should be ready. I don’t think it’ll make a difference.”
