After winning the doubles point against Northwestern, the Michigan women’s tennis team huddled together excitedly, the players smiling and full of energy.
But an hour later, the Wolverines’ joy turned to dismay as the No. 23 Wildcats fought back furiously from the early deficit to defeat Michigan 6-1 Sunday in Evanston.
Despite losing the doubles point for the fifth time this year against a Big Ten opponent, the Cats (16-8, 8-2 Big Ten) followed up their 7-0 win over Michigan State by dominating No. 40 Michigan early in the singles matches on their way to victory.
“We gave (the Wolverines) a little ray of hope and then shut them out quickly,” NU coach Claire Pollard said.
Sunday’s win against Michigan (12-8, 5-5) marked the end of NU’s regular season.
In contrast to last season, when the Cats won the doubles point in all 10 conference matches, doubles play has been a consistent weak point for NU this year. Pollard identified the shortcoming early in the season and attempted to solve the problem by tinkering with the lineup.
Pollard paired Jamie Peisel with Andrea Yung at the No. 2 position and moved Ruth Barnes to the No. 3 position to play with Connie Chiang, who replaced Kristi Roemer.
So far though, the strategy has yet to amount to a significant upgrade. Before Pollard’s changes, the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams combined for a 3-7 record. Since then, the bottom two positions have gone 3-5. The only steady doubles contributors have been the No. 1 team of Jessica Rush and Cristelle Grier. The pair is ranked No. 8 nationally and boasts a 20-4 record.
Although the Cats used the defeat in doubles as motivation to storm back against Michigan, the win marks only the third time in eight chances that NU has come away with a victory after losing the doubles point. When winning the doubles point, the Cats are 11-0.
“I hate to say we were unlucky, but that’s a word that comes to mind,” Pollard said after the doubles point loss to Michigan. “It’s worth one point so you can’t be overly concerned about it.”
Earlier in the season, Pollard said winning the doubles point, although important, was not vital to winning matches. She said her players were capable of playing with more intensity in the singles matches due to the greater sense of urgency the team felt after losing a doubles point.
Despite admitting that doubles play remained a concern, Pollard said she was confident her team would be able to compete well in the Big Ten championships, which begin Friday.
“We didn’t win the doubles point in the final of our first three Big Ten championships,” Pollard said. “I still think the best team is going to win.”
In singles play Sunday, the most exciting match was between Grier and Michigan’s Michelle DaCosta. Grier, the No. 6 player in the nation, won the first set 6-0, but dropped the second set 4-6.
She regained her composure to capture the match by winning the final set 6-1. Grier said the strong wind made playing more difficult and caused her to adjust her style.
“I was making sure my feet were doing the little adjustments around the ball,” Grier said. “I was hitting it heavy and putting more spin on my shots.”
On Saturday, the Cats swept Michigan State 7-0. Each NU player won her match in straight sets, and the Cats swept the doubles matches for only the second time in Big Ten play this year.
With the regular season now over, NU will take on either Indiana or Michigan at the conference tournament held at the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Ill.
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Freshman Cristelle Grier sets up for a forehand Saturday in NU’s 7-0 win over Michigan State. Grier, the No. 6 player in the nation, extended her winning streak to 23 matches with two singles victories this weekend.
