A crushing 7-0 sweep over Michigan State. There seemed to be no other way for top-ranked Northwestern to finish off its regular season last Saturday.
And that’s exactly what they did.
“Destroying these teams is just a lot of fun,” junior Georgia Rose said.
The Wildcats outscored the Spartans 72-9 in singles play and 24-2 in doubles play to seize the title of Big Ten regular season champions. NU ends the dual season on a 17-match winning streak to complete a fourth consecutive 10-0 Big Ten season and improved its overall record to 23-1.
The Cats switched the doubles lineup once again, but the result stayed the same. NU easily swept the Spartans to take a 1-0 match advantage.
Both the No. 1 team of Suzie Matzenauer and Samantha Murray and the No. 3 tandem of Georgia Rose and Nazlie Ghazal shut out their opponents 8-0 to clinch the doubles point. Keri Robison and Maria Mosolova soon after completed the sweep at the No. 2 spot, defeating their opponents 8-2.
“We’re good,” coach Claire Pollard said. “We’ve preached this year about being a good doubles player whoever you play with, and I think they’re delivering on that.”
And the Cats did not stop there, dominating singles play in a similar fashion. Ghazal was the first to knock off her opponent, winning 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 5 spot. The junior finished the regular season on a 12-match winning streak.
Rose and Matzenauer turned in even more lopsided wins. At No. 6, Matzenauer blanked Kathryn Bonnen 6-0, 6-0, and finished the regular season with a 21-2 record.
“It’s definitely nice for the rest of the team to know that we have those two who can get it done no matter what,” Rose said about Ghazal and Matzenauer’s consistency.
Rose clinched the dual for NU with a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing over the Spartans’ Stephanie Kebler.
While the win was secure, the other Cats did not let up. Third-ranked Mosolova defeated her opponent at the No. 1 spot 6-0, 6-2, giving the Cats a 5-0 lead. At the No. 4 spot, Lui won her 17th consecutive match, 6-1, 6-1. She finishes the season with a perfect 20-0 record at the No. 4 spot.
Murray sealed the Cats’ 7-0 sweep after defeating her opponent at the No. 3 spot, 6-4, 6-0.
“Today I think we went out there with a lot of energy,” Pollard said.
NU finished their conference season in the most impressive fashion. Four players – Lui, Matzenauer, Mosolova and Robinson – end the season undefeated in conference singles play. NU also boasts two players ranked top 10 in the nation, No. 3 Mosolova and No. 9 Rose. The Cats finished the season 56-4 against conference opponents in singles play and 27-3 in doubles play.
“We definitely had a good start to the season, when we felt like we were pretty much unstoppable,” junior Georgia Rose said. “And now it’s just about getting back to that point.”
NU also honored senior Alexis Conill, who did not play due to an ankle injury. She finished her career boasting a 40-0 Big Ten regular season record.
The Cats will have to draw on all their depth and talent to overcome the loss of Conill.
“I think it puts a lot more pressure on us to be at our best,” Rose said. “We had a great doubles point with Conill in, but it forces us to work harder in practice and in these next matches to make sure we have three good doubles teams to get that doubles point in May.”
The team will try and build on their regular-season success at this weekend’s Big Ten Championship and the NCAA Tournament in May. Pollard believes this team has what it takes to get it done in the postseason.
“They compete better than any team I’ve ever had,” Pollard said. “They like the big moments. The big moments bring out the best in them, and there’s nothing bigger than the NCAAs, and I think we’ll be at our best in those moments.”
