March 2, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - Yet another top-25 opponent is in store for the fourth-ranked Wildcats this weekend, who travel to 18th-ranked Harvard this Friday, March 4. Eight of Northwestern's 11 matches this year have come against top-25 programs. The Wildcats (10-1, 1-0 Big Ten) have answered the call nearly every time, winning seven of those eight.
The Crimson (6-2), winners of five of their last six, pose a tough task on the road.
A well-balanced team, Harvard has three players in the top-65 singles rankings, while Courtney Bergman and Elsa O'Riain rank 22nd as a doubles team.
Bergman ranks 40th in singles, with Elsa O'Riain and Susanna Lingman not far behind at 58th and 61st, respectively.
Most recently, the Ivy-Leaguers were nipped by 16th-ranked Clemson, 4-3, on Feb. 21. One day before falling to the Tigers though, Harvard posted a quality 5-2 win over 23rd-ranked Georgia Tech.
The Wildcats are winners of their last seven, highlighted by three-straight victories over top-15 schools North Carolina, Duke and most recently Texas last Sunday.
Over that three-match stretch, two `Cats posted a hand full of perfect, straight-set victories: freshman Audra Cohen and graduate student Valerie Vladea. Cohen has a team-leading 33-2 overall record, with a 10-1 dual mark. Vladea sits at 20-7 overall, and is tied with junior Cristelle Grier for the team's second-best dual record, as both are 9-2.
Grier is playing her best tennis lately, having recently dismantled Kendra Strohm of Texas 6-0, 6-1. Cohen -- the nation's top-ranked singles player -- has been nothing but solid for the `Cats as well, winning her last seven matches in straight sets. Together, Cohen and Grier -- the nation's second-ranked doubles team -- have won their last six matches.
Following Friday's match, the Wildcats will enjoy a two-and-a-half week break before resuming competition at 17th-ranked California Tuesday, March 22.
Nationally Ranked `Cats as of March 1, 2005
Singles
No. 1 Audra Cohen
No. 13 Cristelle Grier
No. 59 Alexis Prousis
Doubles
No. 2 Cohen and Grier
No. 18 Kristi Roemer and Prousis
Team Ranking
Northwestern's No. 4 ranking is the highest in school history
Perfect Matches... Doubles
Northwestern has swept the doubles point four times this season: vs. DePaul (1/19), at Texas A&M (1/29), at Kentucky (1/30) and at Wisconsin (2/13).
Perfect Matches... Singles
Northwestern has swept all six singles matches twice this season: vs. DePaul (1/19) and against New Mexico (2/4) at the ITA National Indoor Team Championship.
Chasing Recent History
Cohen recorded her 33rd victory of the season last Sunday against Texas, putting her only seven shy of tying Grier's single-season school record of 40 set in 2004. Cohen has only dropped four sets in 35 total matches.