April 27, 2011
Northwestern (17-7, 9-1 Big Ten) vs. Indiana (13-10, 3-7 Big Ten) or Penn State (6-15, 2-8 Big Ten)
Big Ten Tournament Second Round
Friday, April 29
Varsity Tennis Center
Ann Arbor, Mich. 1 p.m. CT
Live Results: Big Ten Tournament Website
2011 Big Ten Women's Tennis Tournament Bracket
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Looking to begin its postseason trek, Northwestern heads to the trenches of the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., at 1 p.m. CT on Friday. No. 19 Northwestern, which finished the regular season with a 9-1 conference record, will face the winner of Thursday's match between Indiana (13-10, 3-7 Big Ten) and Penn State (6-15, 2-8 Big Ten).
Big Life, Big Stage, Big...13?
Northwestern is vying to win its 13th-straight Big Ten Tournament, which would be a conference record for women's tennis. NU's run for consecutive conference titles came to an end last season at 11, after Michigan beat Northwestern in the regular season, 4-3 (note: in 2009, the conference began naming the regular season winner the Big Ten champion rather than the winner of the conference tournament). The Wildcats, however, have not lost a Big Ten tournament match since 1998.
Following another 9-1 conference mark this season, head coach Claire Pollard now owns a career mark of 122-8 in regular season Big Ten dual matches.
Northwestern and Michigan hold some history in the tournament, having met in the previous six title games, with Northwestern winning all six. For the second year in a row, the Wolverines claimed the regular season matchup against the Wildcats, this time by a 6-1 margin in Ann Arbor.
A Regular-Season Flashback
Northwestern began the season with a rough start, losing its first two matches of the year to No. 26 Vanderbilt and No. 16 Georgia Tech on the road. After posting a 5-5 record through the first 10 matches, the Wildcats kicked it into gear, rattling off nine straight wins. The first win in that run came by virtue of a tremendous 4-2 victory over No. 3 North Carolina, which came despite missing the services of key contributor Brittany Wowchuk. NU finished 12-2 in its last 14 matches, including seven wins against ranked opponents.
Wildcats senior Maria Mosolova finished the regular season with a team-best 18-2 mark that included a string of 16 in a row at one point. Though no one ended the season undefeated in Big Ten play, three Wildcats suffered only one conference loss, with sophomore Linda Abu Mushrefova, freshman Nida Hamilton and Mosolova combining to go 23-3 against conference foes.
Mosolova and freshman Belinda Niu teamed up to form NU's most prolific doubles team, earning 15 victories for the 'Cats at the No. 2 position. The duo has gone 8-1 against the Big Ten and comes into the tournament on a three-match winning streak.
'Cats in the Rankings
SINGLES
#13 Maria Mosolova (18-2 Dual, 9-1 Big Ten)
#75 Belinda Niu (17-6 Dual, 8-2 Big Ten)
#78 Brittany Wowchuk (11-6 Dual, 5-3 Big Ten)
DOUBLES
#11 Linda Abu Mushrefova / Nida Hamilton (14-6 Dual, 6-1 Big Ten)
#75 Elena Chernyakova / Linda Abu Mushrefova (2-1 Dual, 2-1 Big Ten)
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