Daily file photo by Dov Weinstein Elul
Britany Lau and Mika Dagan Fruchtman confer before a point against Georgia earlier this season. Lau and Dagan Fruchtman were paired together after seven matches apart and beat the No. 10 team in the country.
Exactly a week before No. 47 Northwestern took to the court against No. 11 Ohio State Friday, NU suffered what 27-year veteran coach Claire Pollard described as “one of the worst performances I’ve had in my career.”
The Wildcats (10-11, 3-6 Big Ten) lost 4-2 to No. 73 Michigan State on that day, sinking below .500 in conference play.
“The girls know how I feel,” Pollard said. “It just wasn’t anything that we could feel good about.”
After a competitive 4-2 loss to No. 3 Michigan last Sunday in which freshman Erica Jessel defeated the No. 3 player in the country, NU fell in its third consecutive contest Friday when the Buckeyes romped to a 4-0 triumph following a dramatic doubles point.
Yet, despite failing to score a seismic upset against either Top-20 opponent, Pollard came away from the Ohio State defeat with more encouragement.
“Since (the Michigan State loss), we’ve responded so well,” Pollard said. “I was actually really pleased.”
Pollard restored her doubles lineup to the pairings that played together at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship after making several changes throughout a tumultuous Big Ten season.
Graduate student Britany Lau and freshman Mika Dagan Fruchtman reunited at the No. 1 spot after a successful fall season together that saw them land one win short of qualifying for the NCAA Doubles Championships. Jessel and senior Sydney Pratt played together at No. 2, while sophomore Neena Feldman and senior Kiley Rabjohns formed the No. 3 team.
“I studied the numbers,” Pollard said on her lineup change. “When I asked myself ‘When was the last time we played a good doubles point?,’ it was back at Indoors.”
The point appeared beyond the ’Cats’ reach when Feldman and Rabjohns were dispatched 6-2, while Jessel and Pratt trailed 5-2.
To complicate matters further, Dagan Fruchtman and Jessel lost three consecutive games from 4-2 up and found themselves facing three match points at 4-5, 15-40 against the No. 10 team in the country, Luciana Perry and Teah Chavez.
With their backs against the wall, the No. 1 pairing held firm. Lau hit a forehand down-the-line passing shot that barely clipped the right sideline and forced an OSU opponent to net a half volley, Dagan Fruchtman put away a forehand volley and Lau’s serve at deuce was returned long to keep NU afloat.
Meanwhile, Pratt and Jessel broke back and knotted their set at 5-5, before breaking again to serve for it at 6-5. However, the Buckeyes broke Pratt’s serve to force a tiebreak.
The No. 1 pairing was more clinical at the finish line, as a forehand volley winner from Lau sealed a 7-5 victory and left the point in the hands of Pratt and Jessel.
It was Dagan Fruchtman’s first win in either singles or doubles since a Feb. 1 doubles set alongside Lau against Georgia Tech. In the intervening period, she had lost 20 consecutive matches — 10 in singles and 10 in doubles — before being removed from the singles lineup after the Michigan State defeat.
“Huge,” Pollard said on Dagan Fruchtman’s doubles win. “It doesn’t feel good to not be playing her (in singles). She’s a great, great tennis player who’s just struggled. The kid’s working hard. She’s problem solving. I’m hoping today was a step in the right direction, because if we get her in there and playing her best tennis, she’s a phenomenal tennis player.”
After failing to serve out their set, Pratt and Jessel put themselves in a 4-0 hole in the tiebreak. Despite reeling off three straight points to stay within reach, the No. 2 team ultimately fell 7-6(4) when Jessel’s overhead sailed long on the Buckeyes’ second set point.
The Buckeyes seized upon their doubles point triumph in the singles portion of the match, winning five of six first sets — yet, NU had its chances. Jessel at No. 1 and Rabjohns at No. 5 both lost sets from 5-3 up, while Feldman at No. 4 lost a 7-5 set with razor-thin margins.
Only sophomore No. 6 Autumn Rabjohns won her first set for the ’Cats, taking it 6-4 over Audrey Spencer, the 102nd-ranked player in the nation.
Ohio State kept rolling in the second sets. Lau fell 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2 against the national No. 9 Perry, Pratt lost 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3 for just her second singles defeat of the season and Kiley Rabjohns succumbed to a 7-6(2), 6-1 defeat that sealed a 4-0 Buckeye win.
Despite falling to 3-6 in Big Ten play, Pollard said the team’s performance gave her confidence that NCAA Tournament qualification could still be on the cards with four conference matches remaining — against No. 42 Penn State, No. 51 Illinois, No. 53 Purdue and Indiana.
“We’ve got to win every match the rest of the season,” Pollard said. “And then we’ve got to get into the Big Ten Tournament… and knock off maybe a Wisconsin — who I think outdoors, with the way we’re playing, is a totally different match. So I’m excited and very confident we’re gonna make it.”
Email: elikronenberg2027@u.northwestern.edu
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