Jan. 27, 2011
No. 20 Northwestern (0-2, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 44 Harvard (1-0, 0-0 Ivy)
ITA National Indoor Team Championship -- Qualifying Rounds
Saturday, Jan. 29
Combe Tennis Center
Evanston, Ill. 10 a.m. CT
Click Here for Live Stats
No. 20 Northwestern (0-2, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 38 Boise State (2-0) or No. 34 Nebraska (0-0)
ITA National Indoor Team Championship -- Qualifying Rounds
Sunday, Jan. 30
Combe Tennis Center
Evanston, Ill. 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. CT
Click Here for Live Stats
ITA Kick-Off Weekend Home Page
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Each of the last two years, Northwestern's journey through the ITA National Indoor Team Championship event has ended with a triumphant Wildcat team holding the trophy. NU's attempt to defend its back-to-back titles begins at 10 a.m. Saturday when the 20th-ranked 'Cats host No. 44 Harvard in the tournament's first round on ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
Northwestern's Combe Tennis Center also will be the site of a first-round matchup between No. 38 Boise State and No. 34 Nebraska at 2 p.m., and the winners of Saturday's duals will compete at 2 p.m. Sunday for the right to advance to the main draw. By the end of play Sunday, the tournament's 64-team draw will be whittled down to 16 teams who earn a trip to the new host of the ITA National Indoor Team Championship, the University of Virginia, Feb. 18-21. The University of Wisconsin had served as the main draw site for the previous 23 seasons.
Northwestern joins the following 14 schools as regional hosts this weekend (Virginia earns an automatic bid to the main draw by virtue of hosting): Stanford, Florida, North Carolina, Baylor, Notre Dame, UCLA, Michigan, Duke, Miami (Fla.), Clemson, California, Tennessee, Florida State and Georgia Tech.
Live scoring for all four of this weekend's matches in Evanston can be found by clicking here and complete results of each dual will be posted on NUsports.com upon their conclusion.
Admission to all matches at NU's Combe Tennis Center is free for all fans.
The Wildcats and Crimson have not met in a dual match setting since March 9, 2008, when NU won a 6-1 decision in Evanston. More recently, however, the top singles players from both teams squared off in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championships in Athens, Ga., last May, with NU's Maria Mosolova fighting for a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 victory over Harvard's Holly Cao. Cao comes into this weekend's matches ranked No. 45.
Another interesting connection between Northwestern and Harvard becomes apparent with a glance at the Crimson's coaching staff. Keri Robison, a 2009 Northwestern graduate who played a key role in NU's run to its first championship at the National Indoor tournament, is in her first season as an assistant coach for Harvard head coach Traci Green. Robison completed her NU career with an overall record of 53-18.
Wildcats Rise to the Top With Back-to-Back Titles
For several years prior to 2009, Northwestern incrementally performed better and better at the ITA National Indoor Team Championship, moving from main draw qualifier to winning their opening match to eventually reaching the tournament final. In 2009, NU reached the top of the mountain when the No. 1-seeded Wildcats defeated Georgia in the championship match to become the first northern school and only the sixth program in 22 years to win the title. Northwestern followed that effort with another dramatic run to the title in 2010, ousting powerhouse programs Tennessee, Florida, Cal and North Carolina en route to defending its crown.
Looking Ahead
Next weekend, No. 20 Northwestern remains at home for an early start to the Big Ten regular season when it hosts Minnesota at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5. The following day, NU will take on No. 7 Duke on ITA Campus Kids Day at Combe Tennis Center, with a serving contest and free pizza available to all fans.
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