A week after top-seeded Northwestern fell to No. 8 California in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, another upset officially ended the best season in Wildcats’ history.
Despite defeating Baylor’s Zuzana Zemenova earlier this season in team dual play, freshman Maria Mosolova could not beat her a second time in the quarterfinals of the singles tournament Saturday. Mosolova let a 3-0 lead slip away in the first set, and lost in straight sets, 4-6, 4-6. Zemenova lost to Georgia Tech’s Amanda McDowell in the finals Monday.
Mosolova advanced to the quarterfinal round after a 6-4, 6-2 win against Katrina Zheltova of Sacramento State on Friday.
“I think it was just the atmosphere was different,” Mosolova said. “It was a big tournament, so I felt like there was more pressure on me. … It was a great experience that I got this year, but at the same time, it’s upsetting because I beat her last time.”
Although she is no longer a contender for the singles title, Mosolova ends her season as the fifth-ranked player in the nation, boasting a 41-6 overall record. She was named Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year, ITA National Player to Watch, and ITA Midwest Player of the Year.
As a team, Northwestern finished ranked No. 2 in the nation, according to Friday’s final ITA polls. National champion UCLA beat out the Cats by only 0.64 points for the No. 1 spot.
“What’s great is we’ve proven we’re one of the best in the nation,” junior Georgia Rose said. “Other years we finished in the top 10, but I think this year we’ve taken Northwestern tennis to a new level. I have to give credit to (coach) Claire (Pollard). She’s done something great to Northwestern.”
Pollard said that she is proud of all the milestones and breakthroughs the team had this year. She said a key moment for the program was when it reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament and was not satisfied or surprised.
“In past years, we were so desperate to get past the round of 16, and on the one occasion we had, there was a massive sigh of relief,” she said. “Compared to last week, where we thought ‘Yeah, this is what we’re supposed to do.’ And I think if we can use that, and use the disappointment we felt in the quarters this year, with everyone returning, I’d like to think that we’ll be even better next year.”
The Cats also collected more awards last week to add to their season accomplishments.
After building a program that sustained the No. 1 spot for most of the season and finished second overall, Pollard was named Coach of the Year by the ITA, and assistant coach Dave Mullins was named ITA assistant coach of the year.
“My vision after being here a few years is to build a program that will be a contender every year,” said Pollard, who just finished her 10th year with the Cats. “And I don’t want people to think that we’re satisfied with just one year. It’s an annual expectation now.”
And the Cats are ready to do just that. With the entire singles line-up returning next year, NU will be more experienced.
“If you look at Cal or UCLA, they’re very experienced teams and I think that’s one of the reasons why they did so well this year,” Rose said. “We will all have a lot of experience next year and I think that will give us an edge.
“We’ve learned a lot this season, and we’ll be better prepared. We’re definitely hungry. We’ve seen how good we are and we’re only going to get better.”
