Feb. 8, 2012
2012 ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship
First Round:
No. 12 Northwestern (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) at No. 9 Virginia (5-0, 0-0 ACC)
Friday, February 10
Boar's Head Sports Club
Charlottesville, Va. 5:30 p.m. CST
Live Stats
Follow @NUWildcatTennis Tweet #ITAWTI
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Striving for its third ITA National Team Indoor Championship in four years, Northwestern travels to Charlottesville, Va. this weekend and do battle alongside 15 of the nation's other top teams. The Wildcats have drawn the host school and seventh seed Virginia Cavaliers in Friday's round of 16.
The Wildcats were the last team standing at the prestigious event in 2009 and 2010. Three years ago in Madison, Wis., Northwestern was ranked No. 1 in the country at the time and it lived up to that billing with a 4-1 victory over Georgia in the championship match. The `Cats also defeated Miami, Duke and Notre Dame en route to claiming the crown.
In 2010, NU defeated North Carolina in the championship match to successfully defend its title. Several members of this year's squad including senior Stacey Lee (Old Westbury, N.Y./Westbury) and juniors Kate Turvy (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) and Brittany Wowchuk (Toronto, Canada/Oakville Trafalgar) each played key roles in helping the Wildcats win a second straight time.
Northwestern went 1-2 at the event in Charlottesville last season with an opening-round win against No. 5 California. The 23rd-ranked Cavaliers handed the Wildcats a 4-0 loss, one that NU head coach Claire Pollard remembers well.
"The loss against Virginia last year was our worst of the season," said Pollard. "Virginia is very capable of beating us and beating us badly, but we didn't compete that day."
The 'Cats have been competing well in 2012 with wins in four of their first five matches. Pollard's team has defeated No. 15 Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, Nebraska and No. 8 North Carolina, while the only loss came against the third-ranked Duke Blue Devils in Durham, N.C. on Saturday.
Turvy has flourished in her newfound spot at the No. 1 singles position. The junior, ranked 26th in the Campebell/ITA singles poll, has posted victories over three opponents in the top 50, including No. 16 Lauren McHale of North Carolina and No. 23 Jackie Wu of Vanderbilt. She also has a trio of doubles wins under her belt this year alongside partner Belinda Niu (Portland, Ore./Lincoln).
"Kate's played well at the position," said Pollard. "It's a challenge to be on the top of your game day in and day out and she's done a terrific job to embrace that."
Two teams Northwestern has faced this season, No.8 North Carolina and No. 3 Duke are in the field, as are four more that they will see down the road this season in No. 5 Baylor, No. 10 Michigan, No. 13 Georgia Tech and No. 15 Texas.
Friday's first serve between the Wildcats and Cavaliers is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CST at the Stadium Courts inside the Boar's Head Sports Club. The complete draw can be found at the top of this page.
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