After four years of playing tennis at Northwestern, Georgia Rose and Nazlie Ghazal know a lot of things.
One thing they don’t know? How it feels for the No. 1 Wildcats to lose a Big Ten match.
In their time at NU, the Cats have compiled a 49-0 conference record, including four Big Ten regular season titles and three conference tournament championships. Rose, Ghazal and fellow senior Keri Robison, who transferred to NU after her freshman year, will be looking to add one more conference title this weekend, as the Cats compete at the Big Ten Tournament in Madison, Wis.
Rose, who hails from nearby Mettawa, Ill., isn’t surprised by the Cats’ success during her career.
“This is exactly what I thought we could do with this program,” said Rose, currently the No. 20 singles player in the nation. “Naz and I have been through the past four years together, and I think we’ve just worked toward the same things, and it’s all coming together.”
Rose and Ghazal entered NU as members of one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. Rose was ranked as the top recruit in her class by tennisrecruiting.net, while Ghazal was ranked fifth.
The duo made an impact almost immediately. Rose split her time between first, second and third singles during her freshman year, earning All-Big Ten honors for her play. Ghazal also started strong, playing fifth and sixth singles and compiling a 12-0 mark in conference play.
Ghazal and Rose also formed a friendship during year one on campus that has carried through to today.
“Georgia and I have been best friends since freshman year,” Ghazal said. “It means lot to be not only teammates but friends as well, especially on the court. You want to win that much more because you’re that close to everyone.”
Rose and Ghazal now share that bond, and a room, with Robison, who became a full-time starter for the Cats this season.
Together, the trio has helped lead the way to one of the most dominant runs in Big Ten history. After adjusting to NU, Robison has run off an 8-0 singles record this season.
Meanwhile, Rose, the 2007 Big Ten Player of the Year Award winner, has compiled a 29-2 record in conference singles play. Ghazal has been even better, losing only one of her 46 career matches in Big Ten play.
But on a team with Rose and No. 1 Maria Mosolova, Ghazal’s contributions can sometimes be overlooked.
“Someone like Naz just doesn’t get enough credit for the job that she’s done,” coach Claire Pollard said. “I think from a fan’s point of view, they tend to favor the higher-ranked players a little bit. As a coach, you just don’t do that. Nazlie Ghazal has meant every bit as much to our program as Georgia Rose has. You get one point whether you win at one or six. ”
The three seniors will be looking to finish off their careers by leading the Cats to their 11th consecutive Big Ten Tournament title. The Cats will open in the quarterfinals Friday against Minnesota .
Even though another conference title is on the NU players’ minds, they also see it as a stepping stone to something bigger that they haven’t done in their careers – win an NCAA title.
“We’re definitely not satisfied with just winning a Big Ten title,” Rose said. “We’re looking for that national title. I want to leave Northwestern with a national championship.”
