No. 9 Northwestern went two for two this weekend, beating both Illinois and Purdue 6-1 on the road.
On Saturday in Champaign, Ill., senior Jamie Peisel and freshman Nazlie Ghazal at No. 3 defeated Illinois’ Momei Qu and Meza Cuadra 8-1 while freshman Georgia Rose and senior Feriel Esseghir took the No. 2 spot 8-4.
The No. 10 duo of senior Cristelle Grier and junior Alexis Prousis finished it up with a close win against Illinois’ Macall Harkins and Emily Wang, taking the match 8-7 (8).
The Cats continued to dominate the Fighting Illini and went on to win the next five singles matches.
Rose finished first at No. 2 with a 6-2, 6-2 win, her 24th-consecutive victory this season. Peisel captured a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 4, followed by 24th-ranked Prousis’ 6-2, 6-3 clincher at No. 3.
Esseghir came out on top of a three-set match at No. 5, defeating Illinois’ Shivani Dave 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (4), while Ghazal took the No. 6 singles match with a 6-4, 6-2 win.
At No. 1 singles Harkins forced Grier into a three-set tiebreaker and ended up taking the win for Illinois’ only point of the match.
“I know their number one is a really good player,” Rose said. “I’m sure Cristelle knew it was going to be a tough match from the very beginning, and both of them were playing really well. The third set breaker was a really close couple of points, and I know Cristelle was a little disappointed, but they both played a great match.”
With the 6-1 victory over Illinois, the Cats held tight to their undefeated status in the Big Ten.
Coach Claire Pollard stuck with the same doubles lineup in Sunday’s match.
The Peisel/Ghazal duo struck first, dominating every set of the No. 3 doubles match and winning it 8-0.
Grier and Prousis’ 8-4 victory at No. 1 gave NU the doubles point, and the Rose/Esseghir, 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles made it a solid three for the Cats.
In singles Ghazal at No. 6 was the first to finish, taking Purdue’s Britanny Minna 6-1, 6-2.
Rose paid a visit to the No. 1 singles spot on Sunday, and came away with her 25th-consecutive victory for the season. The true freshman beat Purdue’s Randi Schuler 6-2, 6-2.
“I’m really glad I got the opportunity to play No. 1,” Rose said. “It’s always exciting. I’m glad Claire gave me the opportunity.”
Grier’s 6-1, 6-2 victory over Purdue’s Brooke Beier sealed the match for the Cats, while Prousis fell 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in a three-set battle against Purdue’s Mallory Voelker.
The Cats finished strong as Esseghir at No. 5 took her match 6-4, 6-2 and Peisel won a tiebreaker 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 at No. 4.
With a 9-0 conference record and 17-4 overall, NU has set up a promising ride towards the Big Ten Championships.
The Cats cap off their regular season with a home match against Ohio State this Sunday April 23 at noon.
Reach Diane Yamazaki at [email protected]
