When your team is ranked No. 1 in the nation, there are no bench players. Such is the mentality of coach Claire Pollard, who featured all eight of her players last weekend in different combinations in wins over Illinois and Georgia Tech.
Despite the victories, Pollard says the lineup is by no means fixed.
“I liked all the (doubles) teams., but I am always skeptical about one-hit wonders,” Pollard said. “I have to keep problem solving and figuring out what teams can really sustain.”
Northwestern will get another chance to test its lineup when it faces Purdue and Indiana on the road in an effort to improve its 1-0 conference record. In last weekend’s matchups, junior Maria Mosolova and freshman Linda Abu-Mushrefova played together for the first time. The new pair showed no incompatibility as they claimed two victories at the No. 2 spot. NU’s matchup against Georgia Tech featured another new duo in senior Lauren Lui and sophomore Stacey Lee, and they posted a definitive 8-1 win. The Wildcats can further experiment this weekend as the Boilermakers and the Hoosiers are both well outside the top-25.
“You never know where coach is going to ask you to play, or if she is going to ask you to play,” Lee said. “So my mentality is always I expect to play, and if I don’t, I take that into practice so I can work harder and play the next weekend.”
Lee has seen her fair share of matches this season, giving the Cats a strong performance at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots. Lee won all three of her matches on the weekend, posting a No. 5 singles win against Illinois, and a No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles win with Lui over Georgia Tech. Still, Lee is not guaranteed any particular position this weekend.
Freshman Kate Turvy has also played a versatile role for the Cats. The newcomer is a pivotal part of the singles lineup, playing at either the No. 3 or No. 4 spot. Turvy proved her doubles mettle in the finals of the ITA Championships when she and senior Samantha Murray battled back from a deficit to win three games in a row and defeat North Carolina’s No. 28 team.
“It’s been a challenge to work through things this season and focus on how I can contribute most,” Turvy said. “But you know that with a program this good, their hard work has paid off in the past, so that work is really important.”
Practice will be NU’s focus in March. Pollard said February was a month about performing well in big matches like the ITA’s. The team has not had a rest since facing four teams in one weekend at the ITA’s in late February. Rather than giving the girls a break after a grueling few weeks, Pollard is increasing the intensity of NU’s training to maintain momentum.
“We’re not really focused on winning right now,” Pollard said. “It’s more about tweaking personal things. It’s about seeing if we can get back to being the kind of team we were at the ITA’s, and that takes hard work.”[email protected]
