The past three years, the Northwestern women’s tennis team entered the Big Ten championships looking earn the reputation as one of the country’s best teams. This year, the Cats are just trying to maintain the tradition.
No. 15 NU will begin its quest for a fourth straight Big Ten title on Friday, and the Cats are ready to prove – once again – that they’re the best the conference has to offer.
NU (18-5) completed a second straight undefeated regular season in the conference Sunday, clinching the regular-season title and No. 1 seed, but head coach Claire Pollard said she isn’t happy yet.
“As the players will tell you, I’m never satisfied,” Pollard said.
Opening-round action begins today, but the top five seeds earn a bye and will not begin play until Friday. The Cats will meet the winner of No. 8 Purdue and No. 9 Michigan State, two teams they beat handily in the regular season.
NU came away with an easy 7-0 victory over the Spartans in Evanston on Feb. 24. The Cats traveled to Purdue on March 10 and won 6-1.
No. 2 seed Wisconsin gave NU its closest Big Ten match of the season, a 4-3 win that came down to Marine Piriou’s No. 1 singles match with Vanessa Rauh. The NU junior came through with a three-set victory, sealing the match and essentially giving the Cats a smooth road to another undefeated campaign.
The Cats head into the tournament with the most experience of any Big Ten team. Three of the six Cats have at least two years of tournament experience, and only freshman Andrea Yung is new to tournament action.
“I think having the experience of being here gives us more confidence and extra edge,” senior Lia Jackson said.
Jackson added that being accustomed to the atmosphere and pressure of the tournament gives the Cats an advantage over younger teams, but she still feels the pressure.
“It’s definitely a heightened sensation,” she said. “It’s a big moment. My parents are coming, and it’s my last year in the tourney.”
Pollard will play the doubles team of Jackson and fellow senior Simona Petrutiu, ranked No. 30 nationally, at the No. 1 spot, where they had been alternating with the 35th-ranked team of Piriou and sophomore Jessica Rush.
The Cats head into the tournament with a 25-match Big Ten winning streak, and following an undefeated season there’s no doubt the rest of the conference will be trying to knock NU off its perch.
“The longer the win streak goes on, the higher we have to set the bar and the more vulnerable we become, because everyone wants to beat us,” Pollard said.
But Jackson and the rest of the Cats are ready for the challenge.
“We have a standard, and people are going to be gunning for us,” Jackson said. “When I think of the past three years, it’s like we started something and this is a way to continue it.”
