Feb. 10, 2010
ITA Indoor Team Championship Official Web site (Live scoring, Results)
EVANSTON, Ill. -- One year ago, Northwestern solidified its position as one of the nation's premier programs with a historic run to the ITA National Indoor Team championship (pictured), becoming only the sixth program in 22 years to win the title. The 'Cats' quest to defend their crown gets underway at 9 a.m. Friday when second-seeded Northwestern faces 10th-ranked Tennessee in Madison, Wis.
"This season is really about having a different influx of energy because we have five players who really didn't win that championship for us," head coach Claire Pollard said. "Elena Chernyakova contributed in doubles and Stacey Lee contributed in so many intangible ways but in my eyes we have five players on our roster who haven't won anything. The key is going to be for them to not put too much pressure on themselves."
Northwestern earned its spot in the round of 16 thanks to victories over Old Dominion and Princeton in the tournament's qualifying rounds. From here on out, NU will be attempting to win four matches in four days against the NCAA's most highly ranked teams in an effort to become the eighth repeat winner in tournament history.
Hosting the event for the 23rd consecutive season is the University of Wisconsin, which will be the central source for live scoring, results, brackets and schedules for each successive round of play. A link to Wisconsin's ITA Indoor Team Championship tournament central Web site is available at the top of this page.
A victory by Northwestern--who last season defeated Miami (Fla.), Duke, Notre Dame and Georgia on the way to the title--means a second-round matchup with either No. 7 Florida or familiar Big Ten rival Michigan. Defending NCAA outdoor champion Duke enters the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.
Scouting the Volunteers
• Like Northwestern, Tennessee arrives at the National Indoors with an unblemished 4-0 record after defeating Texas 4-1 and in-state rival Vanderbilt by a narrow 4-3 margin to earn a berth in the round of 16.
• Tennessee is extremely strong at the top of its lineup with No. 6 Caitlin Whoriskey leading the way in singles.
• Whoriskey also is a part of the top-ranked doubles duo in the country alongside Natalie Pluskota; the tandem won the prestigious doubles title at the ITA All-American Championships last October in Los Angeles.
• Northwestern's Maria Mosolova played back-to-back matches against Whoriskey during the 2009 fall season, first at the Furman Fall Classic where Mosolova won in three sets followed by a match at the ITA All-American Championships where the Volunteer won 6-3, 6-1.
• Tennessee holds a slight 3-2 edge in the all-time series between these two squads.
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