By Brian ReganThe Daily Northwestern
After weather and travel complications prevented NU from visiting Ohio State on April 7, the Wildcats trek to Columbus, Ohio, for a midweek match and a chance to continue their mastery of the doubles game.
This contest comes after an exciting three-day homestand last weekend, when the Cats knocked off No. 2 Notre Dame and continued their perfection in the Big Ten against Minnesota and Iowa.
“(This match) lets us keep our momentum that we got in the matches over the weekend,” sophomore Georgia Rose said. “We should still have the rhythm we had going into this match against Ohio State.”
The Buckeyes (17-7, 5-2) have won 12 of their last 15 matches, but were shut out by both Notre Dame and Iowa.
NU rides into this match on a seven-match winning streak, with two singles players, Lauren Lui and Nazlie Ghazal holding the same trend.
But with little more than a week before the Big Ten tournament and a ninth-straight conference title in their sights, the Cats may have more important worries than the Buckeyes.
“While we don’t take the match for granted,” Rose said, “it’s a good chance to give some other people opportunities to get matches in before the tournament.”
Depending on whether or not Rose plays today, after she was rested during last weekend’s conference matches with a sore shoulder, Lui and partner Keri Robison could again step into the No. 1 doubles spot.
In Rose’s absence, Robison and Lui, who normally play No. 2 doubles, won both matches at No. 1, including an exciting 9-7 victory against Iowa on Sunday.
“We’ve been looking to just play like we’ve been playing over the past two weeks and hoping to get the win,” Lui said. “I think we are really clicking.”
With the stellar play of late by Lui and Robison, the team’s doubles are becoming even more of a potent threat.
Senior Alexis Prousis and Rose have beaten two top-10 opponents in a week, and now sit seventh in the national rankings.
NU has lost only one Big Ten doubles point this season even with a shuffled lineup in the last two matches, showing that depth is on the Cats’ side.
“Keri and Lauren have done very well, and even Suzie (Matzenauer) played awesome after not playing in matches for a while,” Rose said. “I’d say we’re very strong and confident at every position right now.”
Reach Brian Regan at [email protected].
