After a 13-day layoff, Northwestern had no time for a breather to maintain its No. 1 ranking.
The Wildcats quickly regained their rhythm, picking up road victories over two top-25 teams. NU (15-1, 5-0 Big Ten) beat No. 15 Fresno State, 4-2, in their first outdoor match of the season Friday in San Diego, and then picked up a 6-1 win over No. 16 Michigan on Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The win Friday ended Fresno State’s six-game winning streak and came less than a week after it beat No. 8 California. The Golden Bears ended the Cats’ 2008 quest for a NCAA title, knocking them out in the quarterfinals a year ago.
“I thought our doubles were spectacular against Fresno State,” coach Claire Pollard said. “That really is key because they are just outstanding in doubles.”
NU’s top doubles pair, No. 12 Georgia Rose and Lauren Lui, pushed the nation’s top-ranked team, Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova, to match point three times before ultimately falling short. But the Cats were able to pick up the doubles point with wins in the second and third doubles spots. No. 52 pair Maria Mosolova and Keri Robison upset the No. 16 team in the nation at the second spot.
Mosolova, the No. 2 singles player in the nation, attributed the win to her growing chemistry with Robison.
“I feel like I’ve finally found the partner I’m comfortable playing with,” Mosolova said. “Our game styles are kind of different, but when we are playing together, it works quite well. Keri likes volleying and coming into the net, and I’m kind of the opposite.”
The Cats finished off the Bulldogs with three victories in singles play. After nearly a month without an individual victory, No. 20 Rose got back in the win column against No. 28 Petukhova, avenging a loss in last season’s NCAA tournament.
“I was happy with that win,” said Rose, who lost against then-No. 6 Duke and then-No. 12 North Carolina and then sat out of singles play during the Cats’ next four matches. “She’s a good player, and, after the losses against Duke and UNC that I had, it was important for me to get that win.”
On Sunday, the Cats dominated the Wolverines, extending their conference winning streak to 69 games. But Pollard said the victory was anything but easy.
“We went from outdoors to indoors, west coast to east coast, and I knew that I didn’t really like the schedule when it came out,” Pollard said. “We were a little tired and played a little passively, but Michigan has been the second-best team in the league for the last few years. So it’s always good to get a win over them.”
After winning the doubles point, NU picked up victories in five of its six singles matches. Mosolova grabbed an easy straight-set win in the first singles spot, rebounding from an individual loss against Fresno State. No. 47 Samantha Murray, Nazlie Ghazal and Stacey Lee each also picked up straight-set victories, while Rose won her first Big Ten singles match of the year.
For Rose, the win proved more than just an individual accomplishment.
“I thought we came in and proved a point,” Rose said. “We really showed the Big Ten and the rest of the country how well we’re playing right now.”
