After dominating conference opponents No. 29 Iowa and No. 30 Minnesota this weekend, Northwestern (22-1, 9-0 Big Ten) showed once again why it is the No. 1 team in the nation.
The Cats defeated Iowa 6-1 on Saturday in Iowa City. After losing their first doubles point of the season against No. 20 Notre Dame last Wednesday, the Cats switched their doubles lineup. The new combinations were successful, as the Cats came out strong to sweep the doubles point.
Sophomore Lauren Lui and junior Georgia Rose, ranked No. 14 in the nation, won 8-1 at the No. 1 spot. Both the No. 2 and No. 3 pairs won in a similarly dominating fashion, defeating their opponents 8-5 to complete the sweep.
In singles play, the bottom three seeds quickly sealed the win for the Cats. At the No. 5 spot, Nazlie Ghazal won two straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, to give the Cats a 2-0 lead. Soon after, both Lui and sophomore Suzie Matzenauer easily defeated the Hawkeyes in two sets, shutting them out in the second. Lui’s win, her 15th straight, gave the Cats a 4-0 lead to clinch the match.
Murray and Mosolova had more difficulty defeating their opponents after dropping their first sets. They both came back to win their second sets and dominated in superbreakers, giving the Cats a 6-0 lead.
Rose won her first set 6-3, but lost the second 1-6, forcing a third set in which Iowa’s Milica Veselinovic triumphed 7-6. The final match score was 6-1.
“The reality is we’re going to see everyone’s best against us,” NU coach Claire Pollard said. “They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. We have to embrace the fact that other teams play the best against us, and that’s a good thing for us.”
Against Minnesota, the Cats kept the same doubles lineup, and experienced equal success. Murray and Matzenauer quickly defeated their opponents 8-1, and Lui and Rose won 8-5 to seal the doubles point, giving the Cats an early 1-0 advantage. The combo of Lui and Rose is now 11-0 for the season.
At the No. 3 spot, Alexis Conill suffered an ankle injury and Mosolova and Conill were forced to forfeit. Pollard noted that Conill’s injury poses an obstacle in solidifying the team’s doubles plans.
“We have confidence in whoever we put out there,” Pollard said. “We need to solidify what we’re going to do.”
In singles play, Ghazal and Matzenauer triumphed again, giving the Cats a 3-0 lead. Ghazal easily defeated her opponent at the No. 5 spot, 6-1, 6-0, and is now 18-2 at the No. 5 spot for the season. Matzenauer won in a similarly dominating fashion, 6-2, 6-2. Her win makes her the first Wildcat to reach the 20th-win milestone this dual season.
Rose, who posted NU’s only loss against Iowa the day before, came back strong against Minnesota, dominating her opponent 6-1, 6-0 and clinching the win for the Cats.
Third-ranked Mosolova, who has won eight consecutive matches, won 6-3, 6-3, giving the Cats a 5-0 lead.
Both Murray at the No. 3 spot and Lui at the No. 4 spot dropped their first sets, 6-7 and 5-7, but were able to come back and dominate in their second sets. Despite an already-clinched win, they both secured individual wins in superbreakers to seal the Cats 7-0 sweep. Lui now boasts a 19-0 record at the No. 4 spot this season.
“It was a good solid effort from everyone,” Pollard said. “These girls don’t take anything for granted. They’re confident they can win, but they know they have to go out and earn it.”
Next weekend, the Cats will look for their 60th consecutive Big Ten win, with their last loss in April 2004.
