The best, most underappreciated program at Northwestern is the women’s tennis team.

With four Wildcats ranked in the individual Top 100 of college tennis, one doubles team ranked in the Top 10, a final 2003 national team ranking of 18, and the 2003 Big Ten women’s tennis championship trophy sitting in the Combe Indoor Tennis Center, it is no wonder the NU women’s tennis team is favored to take home another Big Ten title in the spring.

“It is a little early to evaluate where we are at as a team right now,” coach Claire Pollard said. “We are more concerned with individuals on the team working on the things they need to be working on.”

So far this year the Cats have competed in a few individual tournaments, which is what the fall season is mainly comprised of. Team events begin in January, followed by the Big Ten schedule commencing in March.

“In the fall we are working on getting everyone into shape and helping them to develop their game,” Pollard said. “For the spring, we always want to win the Big Ten, which will be a much stronger league this year, and be a Top 10 program in the nation.”

On Oct. 10-12, the team was split up between two tournaments. The No. 6 doubles combination of sophomore Cristelle Grier and senior Jessica Rush competed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women’s All-American Championships at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., while the rest of the team hosted the Wildcat Invitational at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center.

The Grier-Rush doubles team had great success, advancing to the championship match before losing to Vanderbilt’s Kelly Schmandt and Aleke Tsoubanos. Grier, the reigning Big was also the No. 3 seed in the 32-player singles field but fell in the second round.

The rest of the Cats also had success at the Wildcat Invitational. Junior Kristi Roemer defeated teammate Connie Chiang 6-4, 6-3 in the third flight singles tournament. The doubles teams of Alexis Prousis-Jamie Peisel and Chiang-Andrea Yung also was victorious in its brackets.

“It was a really fun tournament,” Roemer said. “The competition was really good, and we had nice weather for the matches all weekend.”

Starting Thursday and lasting until next Tuesday, the majority of the team will compete in another tournament, the ITA Midwest Championships at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich. The field includes the top teams in the Midwest, with NU holding the favorites. Grier will likely be the No. 1 seed in singles, and the doubles pairing of Grier and Rush will likely be the No. 1 seed.

“This tournament serves as a measuring stick for the region, but it’s not making or breaking your season,” Pollard said.