Redshirt sophomore Maddie Lipp and true sophomore Alex Chatt came away as the champions in the consolation draw at the Riviera Women’s All-American Tennis Championships.

Among other teams, the duo faced doubles tandems from Texas A&M, USC, Nevada and Oklahoma State. On the first day of the tournament, Chatt and Lipp fell 8-4 against an Auburn duo that ended up being eliminated in the next round. Both Northwestern players wanted another shot at that first match.

“We wish we could redo our first match,” Lipp said. “We learned a lot, (coach Claire Pollard) coached us well on positioning. In the first match we were a little rusty I would say. A huge improvement and progression was shown by the end of the tournament.”

That first match sparked a streak of wins to the consolation title.

“(Pollard) put in our minds that we’ve been working hard and that we’ve been training for this moment,” Chatt said. “It’s only once a year, it’s not duel match where you have it every weekend so we just wanted to put everything on the line.”

Lipp, especially, has been putting everything on the line since the summer.

She is coming back from a season-long injury, and it is not easy. Pollard said Lipp has put tennis above everything else other than her academics. What Lipp learned this week: She and the team have to work harder.

“It’s really eye-opening for us, the team,” Lipp said. “The top collegiate players in California showed us that, when you think you’ve worked really hard, you have to work way harder because there are girls who are so good. It was really good to see the best of the best.”

For Lipp’s partner, Chatt, having Lipp back since the summer has proven extremely beneficial compared to last year. Last season, Chatt teamed with then senior Lok Sze Leung.

“It’s nice knowing your partner at the very beginning of the year,” Chatt said. “Last year we were experimenting until the last minute and Lok Sze and I finally figured each other out. It’s nice that Maddie and I got a fresh start in the summer and now we can continue for the entire year.”

Currently, the tandem is ranked No. 34 in the preseason doubles rankings. With the doubles point so crucial to a Cats victory, NU will need to make all the progress it can on the doubles front.

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