Northwestern had an opportunity to extend its winning streak to six consecutive victories Saturday afternoon when it faced off in a highly anticipated showdown against in-state rival Illinois. However, coach Claire Pollard’s squad failed to capitalize, falling 5-1.

The Wildcats (13-5, 4-1 Big Ten) started strong against the Fighting Illini (12-6, 4-1 Big Ten), as graduate student Christina Hand and senior Justine Leong defeated Illinois junior Megan Heuser and freshman Alice Xu 6-4 to secure the first advantage in the doubles portion.

On Court One, the ’Cats nabbed an early 1-0 lead in the doubles portion as junior Sydney Pratt and freshman Neena Feldman defeated Fighting Illini sophomore McKenna Schaefbauer and junior Kasia Treiber 6-4.

But once the match switched to singles play, NU’s initial surge was swiftly countered by Illinois, who comprehensively controlled the contest. The Fighting Illini dominated the remainder of the match, securing victories in all five singles matches.

Despite not showing up on the scoreboard, the ’Cats had some promising moments, including Leong’s play.

Leong got off to a stellar start in her singles match against Schaefbauer, securing a 6-2 first set victory. However, the senior failed to prevail in the second set and fell 6-1.

Leong made a tremendous effort in the third set as she went toe-to-toe with Schaefbauer but was narrowly defeated 7-6 by the Illinois sophomore.

NU will look to recover from their tough loss when they host conference foe Wisconsin at the Combe Tennis Center Friday afternoon.

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