| NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S TENNIS: MATCH INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS |
| Fri., April 22 | No. 10 Michigan | 3 p.m. | Evanston, Ill. | NUsports.com (indoors only) |
NUsports.com |
| Sun., April 24 | Michigan State | 11 a.m. CT | East Lansing, Mich. | N/A | MSUSpartans.com |
| Social: Twitter (@NUWildcatTennis) | Facebook | Instagram | |||||
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 39 Northwestern concludes its regular season this weekend, hosting No. 10 Michigan at 3 p.m. Friday before traveling to Michigan State for an 11 a.m. Central time match Sunday.
The Wildcats (10-9 overall) enter weekend play still with a chance to gain at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title. Northwestern comes into Friday's match at 8-1 in the league standings while Michigan and Ohio State are tied for first place at 9-0.
Senior Alicia Barnett will be honored in Senior Day ceremonies during the Wildcats' home finale against the Wolverines. A two-time All-Big Ten honoree, Barnett has 71 career singles wins and 81 career doubles wins to her credit. She is currently ranked No. 49 in the nation in doubles when paired with sophomore Erin Larner.
NU split its results last weekend, earning a 6-1 win at Penn State on Friday before dropping a contest of conference unbeatens on Sunday, falling 6-1 at then-No. 5 Ohio State. The Wildcats won the doubles point against the Nittany Lions before getting singles wins from Barnett, Maddie Lipp, Alex Chatt, Jillian Rooney and Brooke Rischbieth. Northwestern got off to a good start vs. the Buckeyes, taking the doubles point. It was the first team point that OSU had surrendered to a Big Ten foe this season. However, the hosts went on to capture all six singles matches.
In addition to Barnett/Larner, the team of Lipp/Chatt also has a national ranking this week as they come in at No. 28. In singles play, Lipp is ranked No. 60 and Larner is No. 88.
Michigan comes into Friday's match at 17-4 overall and 9-0 against league foes. The Wolverines are coming off a 6-1 win at Iowa and a 5-2 victory at Nebraska last weekend. Michigan has three individuals nationally ranked in singles: Ronit Yurovsky (15), Brienne Minor (18) and Kate Fahey (69). In doubles play, Minor is ranked No. 17 when paired with Mira Ruder-Hook and No. 41 when teamed with Fahey. Michigan won last year's matchup with NU 6-1 in Ann Arbor.
Michigan State brings a 12-9 overall mark and a 4-5 league record into Friday's match at Illinois. The Spartans' doubles team of Allie Baer and Erin Faulkner is ranked 60th by the ITA this week. MSU notched a 6-1 win at Nebraska and a 5-2 victory at Iowa last weekend. Northwestern posted a 5-2 win over the Spartans last season in East Lansing.
The trip to East Lansing will be the first of two consecutive for the Wildcats as they return to Michigan State for next week's Big Ten tournament.