In its most successful season in program history, No. 1 Northwestern once again rewrote the record books.
With three consecutive 4-0 sweeps against Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan, NU snatched its record-breaking 10th consecutive Big Ten championship.
“Great players step up in big moments,” coach Claire Pollard said. “And we have eight phenomenal great players this year.”
For the second straight season, the Wildcats faced No. 2 seeded Michigan, ranked 21st in the nation, in the title match. Once again, the match ended in a 4-0 sweep.
NU swept the doubles point for the third time in three days. At the No. 1 spot, junior Georgia Rose and sophomore Lauren Lui, who played together the entire weekend, cruised to an 8-3 victory. The duo, ranked 18th in the nation, boasts a 19-1 overall and 13-0 dual season record.
“Today was a really good day for me and Lauren at doubles,” Rose said. “We’re starting to play the way we want to in doubles. It gave us a chance to work on things and get ready for regionals.”
The Cats didn’t let up in singles play either. For the third consecutive day, sophomore Suzie Matzenauer snatched the first singles win for NU, crushing Lindsey Howard 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 6 spot. Matzenauer is now 24-2 in the dual season, leading the Cats in victories in that span.
Rose dominated at the No. 2 spot, 6-2, 6-1 for her first tournament victory. Soon after, Samantha Murray defeated Denise Muresan 6-1, 6-4 to complete the sweep and secure the Big Ten title. The victory was Murray’s second clincher of the tournament. She boasts a team-high 36 overall singles wins for the season.
“In order to win an NCAA title, you have to be really strong at the top, middle and at the bottom – you just can’t have any holes,” Pollard said. “But this team, you never know where the wins are going to come from. You just know they’re going to come. It’s just a matter of who gets the job done first.”
The Cats were equally dominant in the earlier rounds.
After a first-round bye, NU swept eighth-seeded Minnesota 4-0 in the second round on Friday. The Cats took an easy 1-0 lead after sweeping the doubles point, then dominated singles play in a similar fashion. Matzenauer crushed the Gophers’ Jackie Sperling in a 6-0, 6-2 victory, followed by Maria Mosolova’s 6-1, 6-2 win at the No. 1 spot over Alessandra Ferrazzi, which extended the lead to 3-0. Murray clinched the match 4-0 for the Cats after a dominating 6-1, 6-1 performance at the No. 3 spot.
“The fact that we’re in a tournament again, I think it brought some energy,” Pollard said. “The regular season gets to the point where you’re just ready for the postseason … I think that it brings some added excitement.”
After advancing to the next round, NU swept fourth-seeded Illinois 4-0 on Saturday. The Cats swept the doubles point again, taking a quick 1-0 lead. In singles play, Matzenauer took the first singles win for the second time in two days, defeating Momei Qu at the No. 6 spot, 6-1, 6-1.
Mosolova also picked up her second tournament singles victory at the No. 1 spot, knocking off Megan Fudge 6-2, 6-2 to extend the Cats’ lead to 3-0. Junior Nazlie Ghazal clinched the win to send the Cats to the title match after defeating Kristina Minor 6-3, 6-2, at the No. 5 spot.
Before the tournament, the Cats took home a slew of conference awards.
Four players – Mosolova, Murray, Rose and Lui – were named to the 12-player All-Big Ten team. No. 4 Mosolova, who finished the regular dual season with an 18-2 overall and 10-0 conference record, was selected as both Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
“We’re a more talented squad than we’ve ever been,” Pollard said. “We have no holes in our lineup.”
Pollard was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her 10 years as head coach. She finished her best season yet with a 26-1 record and also completed her fourth consecutive 10-0 conference season.
In Pollard’s decade at NU, the Cats are 128-6 against conference opponents and have won 63 consecutive Big Ten matches.
With an impressive 23-1 regular season record and a Big Ten championship title already under its belt, NU now looks to a bigger challenge – the NCAA tournament.
“I’m confident,” Matzenauer said. “We have three weeks to keep getting better and we will. I think we’ll be ready when the time comes in May.”
