In addition to taking on the No. 3 team in the country this Saturday, Northwestern had to battle the elements.
The team’s 2006 dual season opener was scheduled for 11 a.m., but a persistent downpour kept the Cats off the court for several hours before upsetting third-ranked Texas, 6-1.
“It is always hard to keep yourself mentally ready,” senior Cristelle Grier said. “They said it hadn’t rained in six months in Texas. We ended up playing at three.”
Once the rain let up, the Longhorns got a jump start, taking the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches and the doubles point. Grier and freshman Georgia Rose had the only doubles win at the No.1 spot.
“I was disappointed we didn’t win in our doubles matches,” junior Alexis Prousis said. “I thought we did a pretty good job in singles though.”
But Prousis might not be giving her team enough credit. NU needed only four of the six singles matches to win, but the Cats ended up sweeping all six singles matches.
At No. 1 singles Prousis, who is ranked 12th in the nation, took the first set 7-5 against Texas’ No. 55 Kendra Strohm. Strohm forced a third with a win in the second set, but Prousis ended up taking the match, 7-5, 6-7 (5) 1-0 (10-8).
“I never played No. 1 singles before,” Prousis said. “I think I handled it pretty well. I competed well and that is the most important thing, so I was really happy.”
The rest of the team followed suit with all six players winning their first set.
At No. 2 singles Grier took the momentum from her doubles match to take Texas’ Petra Dizar in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
Senior Feriel Esseghir won her eighth-straight singles match, taking the No. 5 singles in straight sets.
“I thought we did really well for our first dual match,” Rose said. “It was a great way to start the season. We had a really close doubles point which we ended up losing, but we all came out in our singles.”
No. 3 and 6 singles also took their matches in two sets, and senior Jamie Peisel won her No. 4 singles match in three.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Grier said. “This weekend has proved that. We’ve always had tough duals, so we’re really happy we won on Saturday, but we need to stay grounded for this week coming up.”
The win at Texas brings the Cats to 1-0 for the season. Next they move their game inside for the National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis. on Feb. 2 through Feb. 5.
Reach Diane Yamazaki at [email protected].
