When Ohio State defeated the Northwestern women’s tennis team 4-3 Sunday, NU coach Claire Pollard said the No. 51 Buckeyes celebrated “like they had won the national title” and even took photographs of the final scoreboard to remember the event.

But in the face of such behavior, Pollard was flattered, not upset.

“It’s a really big compliment to our program that we’ve had so much domination over the league that it means so much to beat us,” Pollard said.

The Wildcats’ loss to Ohio State (12-8, 6-2 Big Ten) was its first to the Buckeyes in more than three years and second Big Ten loss in a week, after Minnesota snapped the Cats’ 29-game conference winning streak last Sunday.

Despite the recent losses, Pollard said she was encouraged by her team’s performances. She said she knows how important it is to guide her team through the difficult parts of the season and keep NU (14-8, 6-2) focused on a more important goal: winning the Big Ten tournament.

“I can’t define our program only by winning,” said Pollard. “It would put too much pressure on our kids.”

While some may lament the loss of NU’s unblemished conference record, Pollard understands that the success of her team’s season does not rest upon the outcome of a few matches. Instead, Pollard emphasizes the value of competing well in each match, regardless of the outcome.

Pollard said she was much more encouraged after the loss to Ohio State than she was earlier in the season, when the Cats dropped matches to North Carolina and Kentucky.

“We played one of the best matches of the year,” Pollard said. “We were a class act out there, and we competed incredibly hard, but it just wasn’t our day.”

Contributing singles points for the No. 19 Cats against Ohio State were No. 6 Cristelle Grier, No. 62 Jessica Rush and No. 104 Andrea Yung. Grier’s straight-set win over No. 46 Sadhaf Pervez extended her undefeated streak to 21 matches.

Jamie Peisel and Stacy Kokx both lost after taking their matches to third-set tiebreakers. Peisel, who holds a 6-2 mark in conference play, said she was pleased with her effort and encouraged by her ability to overcome an early deficit to force a deciding third set.

Pollard said inexperience might have played a part in Peisel’s struggles over the weekend.

“For the first time all year, she looked like a freshman,” Pollard said.

NU lost the doubles point to Ohio State with only the No. 8 pair of Grier and Rush winning their match. Pollard said the inconsistent doubles play remained a concern.

NU defeated Penn State (7-10, 2-5) on Saturday by a score of 6-1. All but Peisel won their matches in straight sets.

The Cats now stand in a three-way tie with Illinois and Ohio State for second place in the Big Ten. Minnesota leads the conference with a 7-1 record.

After the loss to Ohio State, Pollard checked the results of other Big Ten matches — something she rarely does — and looked ahead to the Big Ten championships.

“I’m trying to get some feeling of where we might be in the tournament so we can think ahead,” Pollard said.

Peisel was also enthusiastic about the upcoming postseason.

“We want to show the rest of the Big Ten we can win it again, even having lost a few matches,” she said.

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