Almost a year ago, Northwestern was sitting back in Evanston, wondering what had gone wrong.
After starting last season ranked 59th in the nation, the Wildcats would go on to finish the year outside of the national rankings at 11-14, posting a 2-8 Big Ten record and not gaining any victories against nationally ranked opponents.
On Saturday, the Cats will put that turbulent season behind them as they take on No. 21 LSU in the first round of the NCAA Championships, the Cats’ first postseason appearance in three years.
“I think we have a big chance and a big opportunity to play LSU, a top-25 team,” coach Arvid Swan said.
The match, which will be held at Duke, will be the first NCAA Championship in which NU has competed since losing to Wake Forest 4-0 in the first round in 2009. If the team wins Saturday, the Cats (15-10, 7-4 Big Ten) will take on either 8th-seeded Duke (22-5, 9-2 ACC) or George Washington (17-7, 3-2 Atlantic-10) in the second round match on Sunday.
For NU, Saturday’s match poses a special opportunity to take on a tough opponent in the Tigers (14-10, 4-7 SEC), who won several matches against top-15 teams this season, including impressive victories against then-No. 12 Texas A&M (13-14, 1-3 Big 12) and No. 11 Florida (14-9, 7.4 SEC).
“It’s just going to be another high-level match,” Swan said. “We’re going to have to make adjustments during the match.”
Last time on the court the Cats faced a difficult loss, falling 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament to No. 24 Illinois (17-7, 8-3 Big Ten). Illinois would go on to upset No. 3 Ohio State (31-3, 13-1 Big Ten) and win the tournament.
“We were disappointed to lose because we feel like we had a chance to beat Illinois,” Swan said.
However, Swan said he hopes his team can learn from the Illinois loss and use that as motivation this weekend against LSU, a team he feels is similar to the Fighting Illini in terms of ranking and level of play.
“We’ve been confident all year, and that hasn’t changed,” Swan said. “We need to play a very good match against LSU and we’re confident we can do that.”
One thing the Cats hope to accomplish in their match against the Tigers this weekend is staying aggressive in both doubles and singles play. While the team has had great success on both sides this year, Swan said lack of aggression is the reason the team has not been able to take down top-ranked teams in the Big Ten and throughout the nation.
“We’re going to have to (play aggressive) with the opponent we have, so I’m sure we will,” Swan said.
For most of the NU players, this weekend’s playoff appearance is an opportunity to continue an impressive season that has included more than double the number of Big Ten wins the team had in its previous two seasons. Senior Josh Graves, one of three remaining players from NU’s last playoff squad in 2009, said he is optimistic for this weekend’s matches.
“I just think we’re focused on our play and the next match, but I feel great about this team,” Graves said.
