By Jake SimpsonThe Daily Northwestern
Northwestern has won the last seven Big Ten championships and outclassed its conference competition for years.
This weekend was no different.
The Wildcats asserted their Big Ten dominance once again with a sweep of conference foes Michigan and Penn State.
The No. 6 Cats (8-3, 3-0 Big Ten), began their road trip against No. 24 Michigan. While NU struggled early, it rode crucial wins by freshman Lauren Lui and sophomore Nazlie Ghazal to a 5-2 win.
“We really stepped up when it mattered,” coach Claire Pollard said.
The Cats swept the doubles point in convincing fashion. The No. 7 tandem of sophomore Georgia Rose and senior Alexis Prousis crushed the Wolverines’ Kara Delicata and Jenny Kuehn, 8-1.
The Cats sported a new lineup at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Lui, together with new partner Keri Robison, won 8-6 in the second slot; the team of Murray and junior Alexis Conill cruised to an 8-4 win at No. 3
Pollard said the lineup change was an early-season attempt to find NU’s best tandems.
“I decided to use these Big Ten duals to switch up the lineup a little bit,” she said. “I want to find our best lineup for later in the season.”
The Cats struggled to keep their momentum in singles play. While Rose dispatched of her fifth straight top-50 opponent, rolling over No. 43 Kuehn 6-2, 6-1, No. 19 Murray and Robison both dropped close matches to even the score at two.
With the dual on the line, Lui and Ghazal delivered. The 78th-ranked Lui, down 5-2 early, rallied in convincing fashion, winning the match’s final 11 games to beat Delicata, 7-5, 6-0.
“(Lui) really played a tough match,” Pollard said. “She could have lost her composure, but she kept it together and made a great comeback.”
Ghazal sealed the win for NU with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory over Allie Shafner.
The Cats had an easier time Saturday, when they crushed Penn State 7-0. NU cruised to victory behind another sweep of the doubles point and five straight-set singles wins.
“Penn State came out really strong,” Pollard said. “We were just able to keep our composure early and put them away late.”
Prousis and Rose trampled another opponent, beating the Nittany Lions’ Lauren Holzberg and Sasha Abraham 8-2. Once again, NU’s new No. 2 and No. 3 doubles picked up victories, and the Cats improved to 9-2 on the doubles point this season.
“I thought we did a really good job in doubles,” Prousis said.
NU kept its momentum in singles, led once again by its sophomore ace. Rose blanked the overmatched Andreea Niculescu, 6-0, 6-0, setting the tone for an equally dominating team performance. Only Lui dropped a set, falling behind early to the Nittany Lions’ Jenny Shular.
The Cats took every other set, and Lui rebounded to complete the sweep, gutting out a 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-7) victory.
This weekend, the Cats’ road trip continues, as NU travels to Cambridge, Mass., for duals against No. 54 Harvard and No. 10 William and Mary. For today, however, Northwestern can savor its wins and the knowledge that, for yet another year, they are the class of the Big Ten.
“We showed the Big Ten it’s going to be really tough to beat us,” Prousis said.
Reach Jake Simpson at [email protected].
