Last week, coach Claire Pollard said there was no better way to test her team’s strength than opening against a tough opponent like No. 15 William & Mary.
In Sunday’s match, the Wildcats seemed to pass the test and prove just how strong and deep they are. In their dual match season opener, the No. 7 Cats dominated the Tribe with a decisive 7-0 victory at Combe Tennis Center.
Led by sophomores Lauren Lui and Samantha Murray, ranked seventh in the nation as a pair, the Cats swept the Tribe’s formidable doubles teams in three hard-fought matches, winning 8-6, 8-6, and 8-5. Despite being up 7-3 and serving for match point, junior Nazlie Ghazal and freshman Maria Mosolova lost three straight games before earning a difficult 8-6 win against William and Mary’s No. 3 pair of Barbara Zidek and Klaudyna Kasztelaniec.
“Our biggest preparation (for doubles) was playing them last April,” Pollard said. “They returned with the same lineup, so we knew we were in for a dogfight.”
In singles play Murray and Lui put NU ahead 3-0 by easily defeating their opponents, 6-0, 6-4 and 6-0, 6-1, respectively. Ghazal officially clinched the Cats’ win soon after with an equally impressive 6-3, 6-0 win against William & Mary’s Klaudyna Kasztelaniec in the No. 4 spot.
“Last year we barely won 4-3,” Pollard said. “This year we won 7-0. Clearly we are a little better.”
Second-ranked Mosolova and ninth-ranked junior Georgia Rose both played hard-fought matches against two ranked players. Each match went to a superbreaker, in which the first player to score 10 points wins.
Mosolova, who struggled in the first set against No. 12 Megan Moulton-Levy, came back to win a hard-fought second set and finally clinched the match 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 after a dominating 10-3 win in the superbreaker. Despite playing her first dual match against an experienced and ranked senior player, Mosolova was able to end the match in a convincing fashion.
“It was my first dual match,” Mosolova said. “I was excited but a bit nervous, and it was the first match of the season, so it was hard to get into the game at first.”
At the No. 2 singles position, Rose easily won the first set against Katarina Zoricic, but lost 6-3 in the second. Rose was able to pull away in the superbreaker with a 10-6 win, sealing the Cats’ flawless victory.
“I think one of the most interesting things about today was that we had the No. 2 and No. 9 players in the country being the last two on the court,” Pollard said. “That illustrates what a deep team we have …. One of the things I’m most proud of is that everyone is ranked. I hope today makes us realize how important the whole team is.”
Although the Cats were able to sweep a top-20 opponent, Pollard notes that they still have a long season ahead, playing away at New Mexico and against defending national champion Georgia Tech in the next two weeks.
Reach Jessie Cai at [email protected].
