Aug. 5, 2010
The 2009-10 athletic year at Northwestern University was one to remember. Filled with memorable wins, honors and championships, there was much to be celebrated this past year in Evanston. Be sure to follow along at NUsports.com through August 6 as we take a look back at some of the very best highlights the Wildcats experienced last season.
Original Recap of NU's Championship Match Victory
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The traditional thinking in sports is that it is always harder to defend a championship than it is to win one in the first place. But with the rest of the field at the 2010 ITA National Indoor Team Championship gunning to take down the defending champs, Northwestern persevered and captured its second-straight indoor national title on Feb. 15, the No. 2 moment on our end-of-the-year countdown.
"Last season was special because it was the first one, but this year it was just so darn tough," said head coach Claire Pollard. "It was really just an unbelievable three days of tennis and we had to really dig deep every match. We talked each day about what it takes to be a championship team and a championship player and I hope that helped."
Northwestern's four-match run to the championship redefined what it meant to play team tennis, with the 'Cats receiving critical hard-fought wins at different positions in the lineup each day. Perhaps none, however, were more memorable than Elena Chernyakova's three-setter at No. 6 singles against Florida in the quarterfinals. After splitting her first two sets with the Gators' Claire Bartlett, Cherynakova was on the brink of defeat trailing 5-4 before storming back to win the set 7-5 and send NU into the semifinals.
Chernyakova's clinching point against seventh-ranked Florida did not come until nearly midnight, but the Wildcats collectively had enough left in the tank to vanquish No. 3 California (4-3) and No. 11 North Carolina (4-2) over the next two days to win the title. In doing so, Northwestern remained the only northern school in the 23-year history of the ITA National Indoor Team Championship to claim the crown.
The national indoor championship was just one of many highlights for NU from the 2009-10 season during which the Wildcats won 23 matches, captured a 12th-straight Big Ten Tournament title and finished the season ranked No. 7 nationally.
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