EVANSTON, Ill. -- In an historic first ever meeting between the programs, No. 21 Northwestern beat Big Ten newcomer Rutgers in convincing fashion, 6-1. The Wildcats swept doubles play and won five of six singles matches while playing outdoors for the first time this season on Saturday at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center.

"I am really glad we got outside to play today, and I thought we handled the conditions really well," head coach Claire Pollard said.

Northwestern moves to 9-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play with the win.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead with dominant performances across the board in doubles play. Jillian Rooney and Alex Chatt partnered up at No. 3 and fell behind their opponents 2-0 before rattling off eight straight points to win the match and put the Wildcats in good position. Shortly after, the duo of Alicia Barnett and Erin Larner put the finishing touches on an 8-3 win at No. 1 to clinch the first team point for the `Cats. Rheeya Doshi and Brooke Rischbieth held a commanding 7-2 lead at No. 2 before their match was called off when NU had the doubles point secured.

Rooney got things rolling in singles play with a quick 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Rutgers' Lee Levy at No. 5.

"It is always nice to play outside," Rooney said. "The wind took a little adjusting to, but I just tried not to think about it and play the best I could."

Rischbieth received a forfeit at No. 6, so with the `Cats holding a 3-0 advantage, Chatt finished off the Scarlet Knights with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at the third singles spot over Lindsay Balsamo. The win was Chatt's team-leading 11th in duals.

Doshi made it five wins in her past six tries with a convincing 6-0, 6-4 decision over Mariam Zein at No. 4, and Barnett finished things off with a 7-5, 7-5 win at No. 1.

The Wildcats look to continue their strong play with an Easter Sunday showdown against No. 75 Maryland tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center.

Results

Singles
No. 1 -- Alicia Barnett (NU) def. Gina Li (RUT), 7-5, 7-5
No. 2 -- Chloe Lee (RUT) def. Erin Larner (NU), 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
No. 3 -- Alex Chatt (NU) def. Lindsay Balsamo (RUT), 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 -- Rheeya Doshi (NU) def. Mariam Zein (RUT), 6-0, 6-4
No. 5 -- Jillian Rooney (NU) def. Lee Levy (RUT), 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 -- Brooke Rischbieth (NU) Win by Forfeit
Order of Finish: 5, 3*, 2, 4, 1

Doubles
No. 1 -- Barnett/Larner (NU) def. Zein/Lee (RUT), 8-3
No. 2 -- Doshi/Rischbieth (NU) vs. Li/Balsamo (RUT), 7-2 (unfinished)
No. 3 -- Rooney/Chatt (NU) def. Cunningham/Levy (RUT), 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1*

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