With Northwestern gearing up to host the best teams in the country at Combe Tennis Center for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoor Championship this weekend, coach Claire Pollard called for its fans to create a “louder” atmosphere.
“We’ve kind of got the Wimbledon vibe, and we’re looking more for the U.S. Open vibe,” Pollard said.
The Wildcats (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) face No. 1 Georgia Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the first round. The Bulldogs’ (3-1, 0-0 SEC) squad features ITA singles No. 1 and reigning NCAA individual singles champion Dasha Vidmanova, in addition to three other ranked singles players.
NU is co-hosting the event with Illinois — each university will welcome eight teams for the round of 16 and quarterfinals before the semifinals and finals move exclusively to Evanston Monday.
This weekend will mark the first time NU has ever hosted ITA Indoors. According to Pollard, NU previously lacked the capacity necessary for the competition because it only has six indoor courts, making a 16-team tournament unfeasible. The new dual-host format, which sees two schools share hosting responsibilities, allowed Pollard to make a bid.
Pollard said part of her motivation for bringing the event to Combe was her team’s title runs in 2009 and 2010, the second of which she said “came out of the blue.”
“Winning it twice forever ago is some of the greatest highlights I’ve had as a coach here,” Pollard said. “We would love to make some more great memories this weekend.”
Since then, Pollard said, the team has “dropped a little” in its standing amongst competitors. After taking the reins of Wildcat tennis in 1999, Pollard immediately led the team to 11 consecutive Big Ten titles and 13 consecutive Big Ten tournament titles. However, in the last decade, the ’Cats have only taken home one Big Ten title — in 2018 — and have not won a Big Ten tournament.
“We used to be a perennial top-15 team, top-10 team, and we haven’t been that recently,” Pollard said. “I thought this would be one of the first things we could do as an impetus to get back there.”
Pollard described this weekend as an opportunity to expose her young squad to an environment full of elite teams. She also said she has used ITA Indoors — which the University will also host next year — as a selling point for potential recruits.
This year’s edition of the event will feature new innovations, including electronic line-calling, improved broadcasting capabilities and a collaboration with tennis content creators, according to the ITA.
Pollard said she was especially excited for the introduction of electronic line-calling because of its ability to provide more accuracy than the human eye on judgement calls.
“I don’t think people are cheating,” Pollard said. “Frankly, the difference between a millimeter of that ball touching the line or not touching the line is just impossible for any player or umpire or even coach.”
The winner of the ’Cats’ Friday clash against Georgia will face either No. 4 Stanford or No. 10 Auburn in the quarterfinals. Also competing in the first stage of the competition in Evanston are No. 5 Virginia, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 15 Pepperdine.
Georgia suffered its first loss of the season Saturday to North Carolina with Vidmanova losing the deciding No. 1 singles rubber — its first home defeat in nearly three years.
Freshman Mika Dagan Fruchtman, who will likely face Vidmanova at the No. 1 singles spot on Friday, said she was “very, very, very excited” to play ITA Indoors.
“It’s our opportunity,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “We’re a good team.”
For Pollard, any chance of the team scoring upsets and making a deep run at the event will be boosted by the presence of a strong crowd.
“Where can you get more value for your money?” Pollard said. “I’m hoping that everyone will come and take a look.”
Email: elikronenberg2027@u.northwestern.edu
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