By Jake SimpsonThe Daily Northwestern
It was a good January for the Wildcats.
In the first month of the year, Northwestern has established itself as one of the nation’s premier teams. The team turned in strong performances at the preseason’s final two tournaments, posting an incredible 15-3 singles record at the Seminole Invitational. They won their first two duals of the season handily, beating DePaul and No. 10 Duke by identical 6-1 scores. And they have done all this with a starting lineup that, except for senior Alexis Prousis, is made up entirely of freshmen and sophomores.
“We’ve been doing a lot of good work,” sophomore Georgia Rose said.
The eighth-ranked Cats will have a chance to do some more good work this weekend, when they travel to Madison, Wisc., for the National Indoor Championships. A tournament for only the top teams in the country, the NIC provides the Cats’ toughest challenge yet; despite being No. 8 in the country, they are seeded only sixth this weekend.
Going into the tournament, the team’s only major question is the health of Prousis, who has been battling tendonitis in her right arm. A member of last year’s NCAA championship doubles team and a strong singles players, the senior is a key part of the team and will be needed against the elite competition of the NIC.
“(Prousis) is still day-to-day, but I feel good about her chances of playing,” said coach Claire Pollard.
If Prousis cannot take the court, junior Alexis Conill will team up with Rose to form the Cats’ No. 1 doubles team.
The duo notched a victory against DePaul, and Pollard expressed confidence in her supersub.
“I am comfortable putting Rose and Conill together,” she said. “I’d rather not play without Prousis, but we’re so deep this year that it hasn’t yet been a problem.”
The Cats’ first-round opponent is perennial powerhouse UCLA. Ranked 14th in the country, the Bruins will provide a stern test for the Cats.
But after Sunday’s win over Duke, the team is brimming with confidence.
“It was really great to beat Duke,” sophomore Nazlie Ghazal said. “To beat them convincingly was just awesome.”
Rose echoed her teammate’s sentiments.
“The Duke win has given us a lot of confidence going into the indoors,” she said. “We know that UCLA’s gonna be a tough team. We think we’re tougher.”
To get through the NIC’s elite field, the Cats need another stellar showing from their talented group of freshmen. The trio of Samantha Murray, Lauren Lui, and Suzie Matzenauer has been a crucial element of the team’s success, which comes as no surprise to their coach.
“There’s a reason we recruited them,” Pollard said.
If the Cats can knock off UCLA on Thursday, elite programs like Stanford, Notre Dame, and Miami await on the weekend.
But for today, NU’s focus is squarely on the Bruins.
“I expect it to be a really close battle,” Pollard said. “Hopefully, the Cats will prevail.”
Reach Jake Simpson at [email protected].
