Women’s Tennis

Northwestern will go on the road this weekend in hopes of finishing the regular season undefeated in Big Ten play.

The No. 12 Wildcats (17-4, 10-0 Big Ten) will begin the trip at Penn State (7-13, 2-7) before making their way to Columbus, Ohio, to face No. 31 Ohio State (12-6, 6-3).

NU is currently on a six-match winning streak, which was capped last week during an emotional Senior Day against Minnesota. The Cats kept their unbeaten record in conference play intact with a 6-1 win.

“The seniors have played so well this year,” sophomore Julie Byrne said. “We all wanted to do our best and help them end their season in the ideal way.”

Seniors Alex Chatt, Erin Larner and Maddie Lipp were honored at the match for their years of dedication to the team. Lipp and Larner enjoyed success, winning all of their matches; however, Chatt struggled.

She did not win a single set in her final regular season home match. This loss occurred just one week after her heroic win against Michigan, and Chatt acknowledged that her inconsistent play has been a problem throughout her college career.

“I need to take it one match at a time,” Chatt said. “My mindset going into every single match has to be the same.”

She will look to get back to her winning ways on Friday in University Park, Pennsylvania. The Nittany Lions have struggled as of late, winning only two of their last 11 matches. They have only won four matches since the end of January and will look to salvage some pride at the end of the year.

“We need to be ready for anything,” coach Claire Pollard said. “I’m not overlooking anyone; Penn State has my full attention.”

The Cats will then have a day to rest before meeting up with the Buckeyes. Unlike the Nittany Lions, Ohio State has been ranked for the majority of the season. NU will look to spoil Senior Day for Buckeyes seniors Olivia Sneed and Anna Sanford on the final day of the regular season.

Sanford is currently 56th in the national singles rankings. She has won eight of her last 10 matches and will look to keep that momentum going into the battle with the Cats.

If NU does sweep its final weekend, this would mark the eighth time Pollard has gone unbeaten in conference play since joining the program in 1999. It would also clinch sole possession of first place in the Big Ten, which the players said they are keen on doing.

“We want definitely to go undefeated,” Pollard sad. “We didn’t go to Ann Arbor and grab that win to share anything.”

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @CalvAlexander