Northwestern has been no stranger to success in Claire Pollard’s nine years as coach.
The Wildcats, long the class of the Big Ten, have also proven to be one of the nation’s elite programs in the last four years with 20-win seasons, regular trips to the NCAA tournament and a perpetually reserved spot in the top 25.
Through all this, NU had yet to find itself where it is right now: No. 1.
After beating No. 5 North Carolina on Feb. 22 and No. 8 Duke on Feb. 24, the Cats moved from No. 2 in the ITA rankings to the top spot, leaping over Georgia Tech.
It is the first time in the program’s 33-year history that NU has claimed the top spot, and the first time a school north of Stanford has enjoyed the honor.
“It’s really amazing,” junior Georgia Rose said. “We’ve always been good since I’ve been at Northwestern, but we all feel it’s all come together this year.”
The Cats (11-1, 2-0 Big Ten) have not shied away from tough opponents during their rise to the top. Of the team’s 12 matches, eight have come against top-10 opponents.
NU has won seven of those eight matches. Most have come in convincing fashion, including a 6-1 win over then-No. 1 Georgia Tech on Jan. 28 and back-to-back 4-0 shutouts of No. 8 Cal and North Carolina at the National Indoor Championships on Feb. 8 and 9.
The Cats had a 6-5 record against ranked opponents last season.
“We’re continuing to beat teams we had a tough time with last year,” Rose said.
Pollard said she had high expectations for this year’s squad.
But not quite this high.
“I don’t know I saw us at 1,” she said. “We fielded a really young team last year. The nucleus had gained a lot of experience. And when we saw how good (freshman) Maria (Mosolova) was, things fell into place where we knew we could have a special team this year.”
Mosolova (No. 4) is one of three Cats ranked in the top 25 in singles, with Rose (No. 6) and sophomore Sam Murray (No. 20)
With their No. 1 ranking, the Cats realize they are in a peculiar situation. Every other team in the country is going to be gunning for them.
“There’s no pressure on any other team,” Rose said. “They get to come out and let loose against you. That’s something we’ve got to step up to.”
The Cats still have non-conference road matches against No. 4 Baylor, No. 16 Texas and No. 19 Notre Dame on their schedule and also will face a full slate of Big Ten teams, none of which have beaten NU since 2004.
All of these opponents will be looking to knock off No. 1, and Pollard said that’s part of the fun.
“Good teams like to be the hunted and not the hunter,” she said. “That’s what you shoot for. And when you get there, to not enjoy that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.”
NU begins its defense of No. 1 this weekend against Wisconsin (4-6, 0-1) and Harvard (0-6).
These teams don’t have the pedigree of some of NU’s earlier opponents, but the Cats aren’t taking them lightly.
“I told the girls today, ‘I’ve seen bigger upsets than Wisconsin beating Northwestern in my life,'” Pollard said. “I certainly don’t want to be the story of the year.”
Dan Fletcher/the daily northwesternGeorgia Rose and the top-ranked Wildcats will defend the program’s first No. 1 ranking in school history this weekend. Eight of NU’s 11 wins have come against opponents ranked in the top 10. The Cats host Wisconsin on Friday and Harvard on Sunday.
