Saturday’s match was no ordinary match.
It was the first match of the season that featured two top-10 teams – No. 7 Northwestern, who has won nine straight Big Ten championships, and No. 1 Georgia Tech, the defending national champion. These two teams combine for seven top-25 players and five top-10 singles players.
There’s no doubt that Saturday’s match was big – the Wildcats knew this and came to win.
NU didn’t just beat Georgia Tech, but did so in a dominating fashion, winning 6-1 in Atlanta to improve to a perfect 3-0. The Cats’ win snapped the Yellow Jackets’ 19-match home winning streak and dropped Georgia Tech’s record to 2-1.
The Cats started slowly in doubles play, falling behind 1-4 on all three courts. At the No. 3 spot, junior Nazlie Ghazal and freshman standout Maria Mosolova rallied, winning 8-6. After junior Georgia Rose and sophomore Suzie Matzenaeur lost 3-8 at the No. 2 spot, the doubles point was up to the seventh-ranked pair in the nation, sophomores Lauren Lui and Samantha Murray. The duo fought hard to get out from an early hole to win 8-5, clinching the doubles point and putting NU up 1-0.
“I’m proud of the whole team,” Lui said. “Even though we started off really bad in doubles, we kept fighting, and we were really resilient, and it worked out. We have a lot of confidence now.”
Despite the doubles victory, NU’s fate looked dim early in singles play. Mosolova, ranked second in the nation, fell 2-6, 3-6 to seventh-ranked Kristi Miller at the No. 1 singles spot, giving Georgia Tech a point to even the match score at one. Rose, ranked ninth in the nation, was shut out 0-6 in her first set by Amanda McDowell, who is ranked third in the nation in singles play.
But any momentum Georgia Tech gained stopped there. Rose was able to come back, winning the last two sets convincingly, 6-2, 6-1. 20th-ranked Samantha Murray was also able to finish her job, defeating 22nd-ranked Whitney McCray at the No. 3 spot, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Sophomore Suzie Matzenauer clinched the Cats’ win after dominating at the No. 6 spot against Noelle Hickey, 6-3, 6-3.
“Certainly we were really pleased with our performance so early on in the season, but I think the scores were a little deceptive,” coach Claire Pollard said. “It was a really great match between two really great teams. Sure it was a convincing win, but it was a really hard-fought win.”
Adding even more excitement to the win, Lui upset Maya Johansson, ranked sixth in the nation in singles play, at the No. 4 spot, 7-6, 7-2. Junior Nazlie Ghazal also defeated Christy Striplin at the No. 5 spot in two straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, sealing the victory at 6-1.
“I think we outplayed them and think we did a really great job keeping our poise,” Pollard said. “In the beginning of the match, they had the momentum, and we fought for it back. Hopefully this (win) gave them the poise and confidence to know that they really are one of the best teams in the country.”
After a thrilling and convincing win, the players are excited to get back to the courts to work, with the ultimate goal of winning an NCAA title. This dream seems to becoming more and more reachable, after dominating victories against No. 15 William & Mary and Georgia Tech.
“To have such a great win, and to know that all our hard work was paying off was such a great feeling,” Matzenauer said. “Everybody made such a huge impact in that match. This made us realize how good our team is, and how much work we have to do, but that it’s going to pay off.”
