MEN’S TENNIS
The men’s tennis team finished the season on a rocky road, alternating wins and losses since April 6. A loss on April 8 to then-No. 28 Michigan snapped a five-match winning streak for the ‘Cats, and the rest of the season played out inconsistently; Northwestern defeated Penn State a few days later, but then lost to then-No. 2 Ohio State two days after that.
On Friday, the men faced off against Purdue in West Lafayette. Sophomore Raleigh Smith and freshman Alex Pasareanu teamed up to give the ‘Cats their first victory, winning 8-5. Senior Josh Graves and junior Spencer Wolf, the No. 73 team in the nation, faltered against Purdue’s Diego Acosta and Aaron Dujovne, losing five consecutive games mid-match and eventually losing 9-7. Northwestern won five of six singles matches, though, to take the whole contest by a score of 5-2.
In its final game of the season, No. 44 Northwestern matched up against No. 36 Indiana on Sunday in Evanston. Graves and Wolf, ranked No. 74 as a team, rebounded to defeat Indiana’s No. 90 team of Isade Juneau and Jeremy Langer by a score of 8-4. Smith and Pasareanu were defeated, though, to even doubles play at one match each. The Hoosiers claimed the third doubles match, 9-7, and won five of six singles matches to win the day by an overall score of 6-1.
The men recorded a 14-9 overall record for the regular season, and a 7-4 record in conference play. They will open the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday in Evanston against No. 11 Penn State.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Dating back to April 8, the Wildcats faced five straight ranked opponents to finish out the season. Northwestern won all five contests, defeating Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Purdue and Indiana and extending what was a four-game winning streak to nine consecutive victories to close out the regular season and capture the Big Ten trophy.
Last week, No. 12 Northwestern faced No. 29 Purdue on Friday in the last home game of the season and emerged with a 5-2 victory. Junior Linda Abu Mushrefova and partner, sophomore Veronica Corning, won the first match for the ‘Cats by a score of 8-6. Junior Brittany Wowchuck and partner, sophomore Nida Hamilton, also notched a 8-4 victory for Northwestern, while sophomore Belinda Niu and junior Kate Turvy rounded out the doubles domination with a 8-5 triumph. In singles play, Northwestern dropped its first two matchups before winning the last four.
After defeating the Boilermakers, the Wildcats faced off against the No. 47 Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday. While Northwestern prevailed in hotly contested doubles play, the singles matches were much more comfortable victories for the ‘Cats. Each match only took two games except for Mushrefova’s match against Indiana’s Alecia Kauss, which stretched to three. Still, Northwestern swept Indiana and claimed the Big Ten Championship trophy – its 12th in 14 years under head coach Claire Pollard.
Northwestern finished the season with an overall record of 17-7, 10-1 in the Big Ten. The women will move into postseason play, traveling to Columbus, Ohio for the Big Ten Tournament. With a bye in the first round, the ‘Cats will await the winner of No. 8 Penn State vs. No. 9 Ohio State.