Women’s Tennis

Northwestern kicked off its winter season with a dominant showing in the Wildcat Duals at the Combe Tennis Center this weekend.

The Wildcats defeated Alabama, TCU and DePaul with a combined record of 8-1 in doubles and 13-6 in singles. Senior Alicia Barnett, junior Manon Peri and sophomore Maddie Lipp, all returning from injuries, contributed points to NU’s victories throughout the weekend.

On Friday, the Cats started the weekend off with a rout of No. 15 Alabama, defeating the Crimson Tide 6-1. The only loss of the day came from sophomore Erin Larner, who lost her singles match 6-4, 6-2 to No. 63 Erin Routliffe.

Coming off an injury, Lipp returned for NU with a fantastic win, knocking off Alabama’s top singles player, No. 41 Andie Daniell. The players split the first two sets, but Lipp dominated the final set to take the match 7-6, 5-7, 6-2.

Lipp attributed her individual success and the team’s success to work ethic and cooperative mentality.

“Everyone worked hard individually over break, and everyone came back to work as a team and compete well in practice,” Lipp said. “Everyone’s on the same page to have a great year.”

The team carried Friday’s success into Saturday, as it defeated No. 22 TCU 6-4. Lipp, Larner, sophomore Alex Chatt and junior Brooke Rischbieth carried the team in singles, all winning their matches in straight sets.

On the final day of matches, the Cats took down DePaul 7-2 to end the weekend undefeated, sweeping doubles and taking four-of-six singles matches. Peri, who was making her return to singles after being out for 11 months with a torn ACL, fell to Zaina Sufi 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (4). Despite the loss, she remained optimistic because she got back on the singles court.

“It felt great,” Peri said about her return. “It’s been 11 months now, so I was really excited, and I think that carried into my performance.”

After being plagued by injury last season, the team said it was thrilled to have all eight players fully healthy. Coach Claire Pollard discussed the dramatic effect Peri, Barnett and Lipp’s returns had on the team.

“It’s a huge boost for all of us, morale-wise,” Pollard said. “We’re going to need all eight players to show up every day.”

Lipp added to this sentiment, saying health is a primary goal for the team this year, noting the team could have a successful year if everyone stays healthy.

Although the weekend’s matches didn’t count toward the team’s regular season record, Pollard promoted her encouragement for the team after the successful weekend. She also stressed that NU still has a lot of work to put in.

“I think this weekend showed that their hard work has paid off,” Pollard said. “I hope that it’s given them a little confidence and belief that with the right attitude and work ethic, we have a chance to have a great year.”

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