Northwestern had rallied to tie Nebraska at three points apiece. The No. 12 Wildcats could only stand and watch as sophomore Nida Hamilton played on court six to decide the outcome of a rollercoaster, four-hour-and-14-minute dual meet.
Hamilton responded under pressure, lifting NU with a 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-1 victory over Maike Zeppernick on Sunday at the Combe Tennis Center. The win gave the Cats a berth in the ITA National Indoor Team Championships, a tournament they won in 2009 and 2010.
“Nida was disappointed not to close it out in two (sets),” coach Claire Pollard said. “But that shows her character. She was able to move on and play a solid third set.”
NU, No. 39 Nebraska, Arkansas and Dartmouth competed in the qualifying meet. The Cats dominated Dartmouth 7-0 on Saturday but required a clutch performance from Hamilton to secure a victory over the Cornhuskers, who knocked off Arkansas in the other semifinal matchup. Hamilton said an adjustment to her mindset allowed her to rally after dropping the second set.
“I knew I just needed to be more aggressive,” Hamilton said. “I got up on her early in the first set, and I knew that if I went for my shots, I’d probably be able to do the same (in the third set).”
Nebraska came out determined in doubles play. After the teams split the first two matches, the Cornhuskers earned the doubles point when Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein stunned the sixth-ranked duo of Hamilton and junior Linda Abu Mushrefova.
However, all six NU singles players won the first set, seeming to spark the Cats up to a convincing win.
While Pollard said she was proud of the team for rebounding to start singles play, she noted that the Cornhuskers maintained their poise after falling behind.
“Give credit to Nebraska,” Pollard said. “They were able to turn some of those second sets around. It made our life really difficult.”
Nebraska’s Weinstein and Patricia Veresova recovered to beat sophomores Belinda Niu and Veronica Corning, respectively. After Mushrefova and junior Brittany Wowchuk sealed up straight-set wins, the Cats needed a win from junior Kate Turvy to stay alive.
Turvy, No. 26 in the ITA singles rankings, continued her strong early-season play. The Big Ten Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week held off No. 50 Mary Weatherholt 7-6, 7-6. Pollard praised her style of play after the victory.
“She’s tenacious. She’s gutsy,” Pollard said. “She has great wheels that she relies heavily on.”
Turvy said she was impressed by the way her teammates recovered from the early deficit.
“We were resilient and came back and fought,” Turvy said. “I was proud of everyone.”
The Cats have excelled in their first three contests, all wins, but to Hamilton, beating Nebraska was especially significant.
“This one is huge,” Hamilton said. “We want to go to Indoors and be a top-16 team. If we had lost this match, it would have been devastating.”
NU faces a difficult slate this weekend as the team travels to No. 8 North Carolina and No. 3 Duke, hoping to build off its strong start.
