When the best teams in the country are convening, you can bet that Northwestern will be right in the thick of things.
That will be the case starting today as the No. 5 Wildcats travel to Madison, Wis., for the 18th Annual USTA/ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championship.
The tournament features seven of the top-10 teams in the country and presents NU (3-0) with another chance to test its mettle.
“It’ll be a great test to see exactly where we’re at,” coach Claire Pollard said. “If we’re gonna win a national championship these are the caliber opponents you have to beat.”
The Cats (3-0) are looking to improve on their 2-1 performance last year in the tournament, when they defeated Texas A&M and Kentucky. Their loss came at the hands of then-No. 4 Georgia.
Ironically, NU is coming off consecutive wins against Texas A&M and Kentucky this year. Also, the draw has given the fourth-seeded Cats a shot at redemption as they open the tournament today at 9 a.m. against the now-No. 13 Bulldogs.
While it’s easy to harp on the revenge factor, Pollard is sticking with the level-headed mantra the Cats have had all season.
“We talked about not over emphasizing certain opponents that we haven’t done as well against,” Pollard said. “I don’t think that’s a great motivation tool so we’re not going to be using that.”
The rest of the field includes: No. 1 Stanford, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Vanderbilt, No. 8 Duke, No. 10 Tulane, No. 11 Washington, No. 12 Miami (Fla.), No. 14 Kentucky, No. 15 North Carolina, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 24 New Mexico, No. 34 Harvard, and host No. 48 Wisconsin. Defending champion Stanford, which has won six team indoor titles, is the top seed.
The tournament’s quarterfinals take place Friday. The semifinals continue on Saturday, and the Finals will be Sunday.
Having just returned from a weekend of play in Texas, the Cats are not getting much rest, but Pollard insists that preparation isn’t changing.
“The same as always,” Pollard said. “It’s just any other week.”
Reach David Kalan at [email protected].
Thursday’s opening round draw is as follows:
(1) Stanford vs. Harvard, 9 a.m.
(8) Washington vs. New Mexico, 9 a.m.
(4) Northwestern vs. Georgia, 9 a.m.
(5) Vanderbilt vs. Wisconsin, 9 a.m.
(6) Duke vs. Texas A&M, 3 p.m.
(3) UCLA vs. Miami (Fla.), 3 p.m.
(7) Tulane vs. North Carolina, 3 p.m.
(2) Clemson vs. Kentucky, 3 p.m.
