No. 1 Northwestern has had a lot of success at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston this year. It’s hard to argue that the Wildcats’ results at the Neilsen Tennis Center haven’t been even better.
NU (25-1, 10-0 Big Ten) won its 11th consecutive Big Ten Tournament title Sunday at the latter in Madison, Wis. – the same venue where the Cats won the Indoor Team Championships in February.
“It brought back some nice memories for the girls when we walked in there on the first day, ” coach Claire Pollard said. “Our breakthrough tournament was the Indoor Championships, and I think it was certainly advantageous for us to come back. We were able to draw from that confidence we had from winning Indoors.”
It was business as usual for NU. The Cats extended their conference winning streak to 77 games by shutting out all three of their opponents.
The wins this weekend allowed NU’s three seniors to close out their Big Ten careers with unblemished 46-0 conference records
Even though the Cats have won the Big Ten title 11 years in a row, they said that feat isn’t something they take for granted.
“People might say the Big Ten title isn’t a big deal to us, but it’s a huge deal,” senior Georgia Rose said. “Claire constantly reminds us not to overlook the Big Ten title. We have a long streak going, but it just shows how much we are doing each and every day.”
The Cats cruised to victories in their first two rounds, setting up a showdown with No. 18 Michigan in the championship match. NU grabbed an easy 4-0 win over No. 8 seed Minnesota in the quarterfinals Friday and another 4-0 victory against No. 4 seed Ohio State in the semifinals Saturday.
The Cats had to fight to pick up the doubles point against the Wolverines. No. 33 Maria Mosolova and Keri Robison struck first for NU, grabbing an 8-5 victory in the second doubles spot. But the team of junior Samantha Murray and freshman Elena Chernyakova fell 8-5 in third doubles.
The Cats secured the doubles point when No. 21 Rose and Lauren Lui picked up an 8-3 win over No. 27 Chisako Sugiyama and Tania Mahtani in the first slot. That win at the first doubles spot prevented Michigan from gaining any momentum.
“The doubles point was a huge point for us because Michigan did such a good job, and it sort of took away a little of their belief,” Pollard said. “Georgia and Lauren really stepped up and played a big match point for it.”
Singles play began with Robison’s quick 6-3, 6-1 victory in the sixth slot. No. 20 Rose then picked up a quick 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 97 Rika Tatsuno in second singles. No. 1 Mosolova scored the match’s clinching point with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Sugiyama in the first singles spot.
Even in the afterglow of their conference championship, the Cats’ focus was on how the tournament experience will help them on their quest for an NCAA title, which begins May 8, and will likely be held in Evanston.
“The difference with tournaments is you either win or go home,” Robison said. “We definitely felt that pressure, and we responded pretty well. We’ll be able to use that heading into NCAAs.”
