Northwestern edged out Rice 4-3 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, bouncing back after falling 4-0 to No. 9 Texas A&M the day prior in College Station, Texas.
The Wildcats (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten), – looked to improve on its then-unbeaten record of 3-0 with an upset over the Aggies (4-2, 0-0 SEC) this weekend. But home-court advantage suited the Aggies well — they snatched the doubles point from their visitors and never looked back.
Texas A&M started off an early lead as the No. 39 pairing of graduate student Christina Hand and junior Justine Leong were defeated 6-4 by their No. 3 counterparts, Mary Stoiana and Mia Kupres.
However, graduate student Britany Lau and senior Maria Shusharina kept their squad in contention as they prevailed in a tight 7-6(4) match.
Though junior Sydney Pratt and graduate student Elisa Van Meeteren fought hard to secure the coveted doubles point for NU, the pair’s matchup culminated in a thrilling tiebreak that saw the Aggies outlast the ‘Cats 7-6(7).
On the singles court, the Aggies cruised to victory as singles No. 1 Stoiana defeated Shusharina with a pair of 6-1 sets.
While strong showings came from Hand and Lau on the singles court, with their matches entering decisive third sets, their contests were cut short as the Aggies cemented their sweep.
Not all was lost this weekend — the ‘Cats found respite in a close win over Rice (0-3, 0-0 American). They avenged Saturday’s doubles point with a strong showing on courts two and three to start the matchup.
Lau and Shusharina dominated their match, refusing to drop a single game, holding their opponents at love. At the second position, Pratt and Van Meeteren secured the first point for NU with a 6-4 showing.
Hand doubled the ‘Cats lead with a confident 6-2, 6-3 win, marking her fourth singles victory of the season.
The Owls answered back with a pair of victories to tie the score at 2-2, but a win in three sets from sophomore Jennifer Riester gave NU the upper hand.
Though Rice equalized the score with a win at court one, Pratt delivered a decisive blow on court five, powering through three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to give NU its fourth point and close out the weekend.
The ‘Cats continue their season on the road where they are set to face Georgia Tech at home on Feb. 4, with play scheduled for 11 a.m.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @beatricedvilla
Related Stories:
—Women’s Tennis: Northwestern sweeps Butler and Eastern Michigan in Saturday slate
— Women’s Tennis: Northwestern snatches victory from FAU in doubles season opener
— Women’s Tennis: The Cats aim to put last season in the past
