With Northwestern men’s and women’s tennis teams nearing Big Ten play, The Daily’s tennis beat reporters Eli Kronenberg and Charlie Spungin handed out early-season accolades and provided insights for the competition to come.
Women’s Tennis (6-4, 0-0 Big Ten):
Player of the season so far:
Spungin: Sydney Pratt
In the season-opening match against Butler, Pratt won 6-1, 6-1 in singles. Alongside freshman Erica Jessel in doubles, the senior won 6-0. This match foreshadowed what was to come.
In nine matches this season, Pratt has not dropped a singles set, including triumphs over her opponents at No. 4 Stanford 6-4, 6-3 and Illinois 6-2, 7-5. While the matches went unfinished, she led No. 1 Georgia’s Guillermina Grant, the country’s 90th ranked player, 6-3, 3-4, as well as her opponent at No. 15 Pepperdine 6-2, 5-5.
In doubles, she and Jessel are 7-2. Five of these wins came while dropping two or fewer games. The veteran has exemplified pure dominance in her final campaign in Evanston.
Kronenberg: Britany Lau
While Pratt’s exploits are undeniable, Lau has been an equally important contributor to NU’s success. Lau’s 3-1 singles record at No. 3 doesn’t remotely do her season justice.
In addition to a match-clinching win over Georgia Tech’s Given Roach, Lau played a series of competitive matches against elite-caliber opponents that were left unfinished.
She was set to serve for the match at 5-4 in the third set against 111th-ranked Violeta Martinez of Illinois, led 6-4, 4-4 against No. 1 Georgia’s Mell Reasco and led 1-6, 7-6(5), 2-1 against Pepperdine’s 80th-ranked Vivian Yang when each of those matches were called off.
The sixth-year graduate student has found her best tennis, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Breakout player of the season so far:
Spungin: Neena Feldman
Feldman has been in the doubles lineup each match this season, recently finding form with senior Kiley Rabjohns. After a close 7-5 loss to No. 1 Georgia, the pair has won four straight matches — 7-5 against No. 4 Stanford, 6-1 versus No. 15 Pepperdine, 6-1 against UIC and 6-0 versus Milwaukee.
Feldman hasn’t solidified herself as a mainstay in coach Claire Pollard’s singles lineup early in the dual season. But when she’s been on the court, she’s dominated, posting an unblemished 5-0 record. She earned one of NU’s two points at Illinois with her 6-3, 6(2)-7, 6-4 victory, capped off by a forehand winner.
Other than that match, the sophomore has not dropped a set. Her results read: 6-1, 6-1; 6-2, 6-1; 6-3, 6-3; 6-0, 6-1. One of those came against national powerhouse Pepperdine.
Kronenberg: Autumn Rabjohns
After sitting out last year’s dual season, it wasn’t clear whether Rabjohns would be in the picture for this campaign. Yet, Rabjohns’ form in the preseason Quad Invite, in which she went 3-0 in singles, was impossible for Pollard to ignore.
Pollard said she decided that Rabjohns would exclusively slice on the forehand side in December to help expel her struggles with confidence on the topspin forehand.
That move has paid dividends, as Rabjohns has been a stalwart in the singles lineup, posting a 4-4 singles record that includes a crucial win over Georgia Tech at No. 6 which helped the ’Cats secure victory.
X-factor quality:
Spungin: Mika Dagan Fruchtman staying healthy
Before the dual season, Dagan Fruchtman was fighting a sprained ligament in her left foot. Against Georgia Tech in early February, she injured her right foot and had the trainer attend to her. Against No. 1 Georgia, she pulled her hamstring while still nursing her foot injuries.
This past weekend, Dagan Fruchtman sat out of matches against UIC and Milwaukee.
The star freshman has exemplified her all-court style of play and strong groundstrokes throughout her time at NU. The priority now is to stay healthy to give NU productive No. 1 singles play.
Kronenberg: Erica Jessel finding consistency
There is so much to like about Jessel’s game. Her booming serve and effortlessly powerful ball-striking stand out immediately, and her ability to close at the net has shone in doubles.
When she executes over the course of a full match — as she was on course to do against Stanford’s 18th-ranked Connie Ma before the match was left unfinished early in the third set — she has the potential to be one of the best players in college tennis.
Jessel finding consistency, both within points and over the course of a match, will be key to NU’s trajectory.
Biggest coaching dilemma:
Spungin & Kronenberg: Bottom of the singles lineup
When Pollard sat down with The Daily after the fall season concluded, she raved about her team’s depth, saying this year’s squad may be the deepest she’s ever coached.
She doesn’t appear to be wrong. While there are evident locks for Pollard’s lineup, figuring out who to start at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots presents itself as a major question mark.
The Rabjohns sisters each initially got the nod in the first three matches when the whole team was fit, but Feldman’s fine form may make her undroppable. In the end, Pollard said she will have to decide on a match-by-match basis.
“We need to see what the style of play is of our opposition, and maybe we need to be strategic in who plays,” Pollard said Sunday.
Record prediction:
Spungin: 18-7, 10-3 Big Ten
Kronenberg: 17-8, 9-4 Big Ten
Men’s Tennis (4-5, 0-0 Big Ten):
Player of the season so far:
Spungin & Kronenberg: Felix Nordby
There’s no doubt about this one. Nordby was already one of the team’s best performers last season and has now taken his game to new levels.
Playing at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots, Nordby has posted a 6-1 record. The other NU players in the top half of the singles lineup have posted an aggregate 8-9 record. Nordby’s lone loss came in three sets at Louisville.
Notably, Nordby grinded out a 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 win against No. 24 Harvard. He quickly dispatched his opponents Saturday with 6-1, 7-5 and 6-1, 6-1 wins against Illinois State and IU Indianapolis, respectively.
The Norwegian senior has made a habit of pummeling forehand winners, and it may be only a matter of time before coach Arvid Swan gives him a look at the top spot.
“He’s playing at a very high level,” Swan said after Nordby’s wins over Illinois State and IU Indianapolis on Saturday. “He can play at any spot in the lineup.”
Breakout player of the season so far:
Spungin: Greyson Casey
After going 3-11 in singles play at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles slots last season, Casey has already exceeded his number of wins last season by posting a 4-4 record at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions this season.
Casey started the season as NU’s No. 1 and recorded two wins in the doubleheader against Saint Joseph’s and UIC that kicked off the season. This past weekend, he picked up another pair of wins, both in straight sets.
His powerful serve and seeming ability to hit a winner from nearly anywhere on the court make him a force to be reckoned with when he finds his rhythm.
Kronenberg: Max Bengtsson
The senior bided his time early in his NU career, playing just three dual-season singles matches over his first two years. However, since entering the lineup in April last season, Bengtsson has been a formidable force.
His rock-solid consistency from the baseline has propelled him to a 4-3 singles record at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots. Bengtsson was a rare bright spot during the ’Cats’ five-match losing streak, winning at Louisville, losing in tight third sets against Harvard and Vanderbilt and leading 6-2, 3-3 in an unfinished match at Clemson.
When he returned to Evanston, Bengtsson secured his second career double bagel against Illinois State.
X-factor quality:
Spungin: Greyson Casey’s return game
Against No. 24 Harvard in doubles alongside Nordby, Casey’s match went unfinished. The sophomore won all 12 points in his service games. Throughout the season, his powerful serve has been an instrument of mass success.
His return games, however, aren’t quite at the same level as his service game. On his service games, he has the ability to tally up aces and execute lethal serve-plus ones. On his return games, he doesn’t get this same opportunity.
As a player that Swan says has “huge upside,” Casey’s serve will be crucial to prove this prophecy.
Kronenberg: Saiprakash Goli’s aggression
As the team’s longest-tenured player, Goli has the stamina and mental toughness to compete at a high level through the rigorous demands of a college tennis season. After posting a 9-13 singles record in his first season as a regular starter — mostly at the No. 3 spot — Goli has moved up as high as No. 1 this season.
His electrifying athleticism allows him to drag technically superior players to dark places — yet, against the very best opponents, the graduate student will need to find a way to take matters into his own hands more often.
“One of my strengths is I’m pretty quick,” Goli said. “But I’m trying to use that speed to play more aggressive, trying to finish points a little bit quicker.”
Record prediction:
Spungin: 12-16, 5-8 Big Ten
Kronenberg: 15-13, 6-7 Big Ten
Email: elikronenberg2027@u.northwestern.edu
Email: Charliespungin2027@u.northwestern.edu
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