Northwestern may have dropped consecutive matchups in North Carolina, but junior Maria Mosolova is on the upswing after notching four wins last week. Mosolova will look to capitalize on her momentum this weekend as she searches for her 100th career win.
“I am very pleased with my performance,” Mosolova said. “I had some trouble in the fall but now I am doing better and focusing well. Of course, there are still things that I need to work on.”
Mosolova was undefeated in both singles and doubles play on the week-all against ranked opponents-to earn Big Ten Player of the Week. She was the only player to notch singles wins in NU’s games against Duke and North Carolina. On the doubles front, Mosolova played at the No. 1 spot with senior Lauren Lui and took down the Tar Heels’ 10th-ranked team in a tiebreaker, 9-8. Mosolova’s perfect conference singles record mirrors the team’s undefeated Big Ten streak, but Mosolova and the rest of the Cats will face their most challenging conference opponent this weekend when they host No. 8 Michigan. The Wolverines are looking to become the fourth top-10 team to knock off the Cats, after North Carolina, Duke and Notre Dame all bested NU.
“They really are a high caliber top-10 team,” Lui said. “They have just been getting better all season and they will really challenge us.”
Mosolova thrived on the competition in North Carolina, taking down No. 42 and No. 36 ranked singles opponents against North Carolina and Duke. This weekend Mosolova will face off against Michigan’s top player, No. 25 Denise Muresan. Mosolova defeated Muresan in the October semifinals of the ITA Midwest Regional semifinal, 6-1, 6-2. But Muresan has rapidly climbed the singles rankings since beginning the season unranked in September. While Mosolova has fallen from her season-opening No. 1 ranking, her pair of wins last week has given her a new confidence.
“You can just tell that she’s regained her focus,” coach Claire Pollard said. “When she walks out on that court, she’s about one thing: getting the win. She’s not going to let anything stop her.”
NU will have to contend with playing just its second outdoor match of the season Saturday. Mosolova and Lui both cited the weather as problematic in NU’s losses to North Carolina and Duke. This matchup may be more evenhanded in terms of outdoor experience against comparably cold Michigan and Michigan State.
The unranked Spartans will offer NU a reprieve from top-10 competition Sunday.
“We are sort of going to be playing both ends of the spectrum this weekend,” Pollard said. “But you never know what another team is going to bring the court so we are going to approach both matches with intensity.”[email protected]
