In her first 26 years at the helm for Northwestern, coach Claire Pollard made beating Iowa an annual routine, posting an unblemished 28-0 record over her conference foe during that stretch.
But after freshman Erica Jessel’s backhand flew long with the match tied at 3-3 Sunday afternoon, the No. 38 Wildcats (9-7, 2-2 Big Ten) fell to the No. 49 Hawkeyes (9-4, 3-1 Big Ten) 4-3.
“Really disappointing,” Pollard said after the match. “Not a good enough effort. Not good enough execution. Not good enough in any aspect.”
Two days earlier, the ’Cats took care of business against No. 58 Nebraska, sweeping the Cornhuskers (10-5, 0-4 Big Ten) 4-0.
In that Friday match, NU kept its new doubles teams intact, winning the doubles point for the second consecutive contest.
Against Nebraska, the No. 3 pairing of graduate student Britany Lau and senior Kiley Rabjohns stomped their opponents 6-1, but the No. 1 duo of Jessel and freshman Mika Dagan Fruchtman suffered a 6-4 defeat.
As Jessel and Dagan Fruchtman lost, senior Sydney Pratt — just one court over — hit a forehand long, putting her and sophomore Neena Feldman down 3-5, 30-40 at the No. 2 slot.
“I really just say, ‘What’s my favorite serve? How can I execute it? How can I play this point the best I can and not think about the bigger picture about the whole doubles point at stake?’” Pratt said. “I think just focusing on one shot at a time is really important.”
Pratt saved the two match points with strong serves, and she and Feldman won 12 of the next 16 points from then on to win their match 7-5 after originally being down 5-2, winning NU the doubles point.
The ’Cats dominated singles first sets, as No. 1 Jessel, No. 2 Lau, No. 4 Pratt, and No. 5 Feldman lost only two or fewer games to open their matches.
“I thought we got off to a good start in singles,” Pollard said. “We did a good job capitalizing on that.”
After Pratt’s opponent was forced to retire due to an ankle injury, she captured a 6-2, 1-1 win. Lau’s 6-1, 6-2 pummeling and Feldman’s 6-0, 6-4 victory completed the sweep for NU.
When the match completed, Jessel was set to enter a third set, while No. 6 Rabjohns and Dagan Fruchtman, who moved down to No. 3 in the lineup, were each down a set.
Less than 48 hours later, the ’Cats lost to Iowa for the first time since 1992 with a 4-3 defeat.
Despite Lau and Rabjohns putting on what Pollard called a “dominant” display at the No. 3 position with a 6-1 win, Jessel and Dagan Fruchtman lost 6-2 at No. 1, while Pratt and Feldman lost four straight games to lose 7-5 at No. 2.
“I think that doubles needs a lot of work and help,” Pollard said. “I think splitting up the teams hasn’t really helped them, and I think I might need to revisit it again.”
An illness prevented Feldman from playing in singles. Sophomore Autumn Rabjohns replaced her in the lineup at the No. 6 position.
NU’s veterans concluded their matches first. No. 4 Pratt moved to 11-0 in singles this season with a 6-3, 6-0 win, putting the first point on the board for the ’Cats. No. 2 Lau fell 6-4, 6-2, but No. 5 Kiley Rabjohns won 6-4, 6-1 within minutes to even the match at 2-2.
“(Syd and Kiley) are just really solid, and mentally, they understand what it takes to compete,” Pollard said. “They understand what it takes to come out every day.”
Autumn Rabjohns registered a 6-1, 7-6(5) win in her first match since Feb. 16, while No. 3 Dagan Fruchtman lost 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.
With the match then tied at 3-3, No. 1 Jessel was defeated 7-5, 1-6, 6-2. She originally led 5-1 in the first set.
“They’re on the right path. I think their future is so great for Northwestern,” Pollard said about her freshmen, Dagan Fruchtman and Jessel. “I just feel we need to learn to compete better more than we need to worry how well we’re playing, and I think their emphasis is still on how well they’re playing rather than how well they’re competing.”
Dagan Fruchtman has lost eight straight singles and doubles matches, while Jessel has lost five consecutive singles and doubles matches.
With Sunday’s loss, NU started conference play 2-2 for just the second time in Pollard’s 27 dual seasons. The only other time the ’Cats started their Big Ten slate 2-2 under Pollard was in 2023, Pollard’s lone season missing the NCAA tournament at NU.
“I never expect to go 2-2,” Pollard said. “I think we just need to sort of take care of ourselves. We got to think about what we need to do. I think we got to get a better doubles lineup, and I think everyone’s got to figure out how to compete better. Everyone’s got to pull their weight to get back on the winning board. … It’s a good league now, and every match is going to be hard.”
Email: charliespungin2027@u.northwestern.edu
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