EVANSTON, Ill. - No. 37 Northwestern women's tennis finished their dual season with a perfect 11-0 home record after taking down both No. 58 Purdue and Indiana this weekend at Combe Tennis Center. The victories improved the 'Cats to 17-5 on the season and 8-1 in conference play, which ties them for second in the Big Ten heading into the final week of the regular season.
The 'Cats opened their weekend with a 4-1 defeat of the Purdue Boilermakers (11-9, 4-6 B1G). Beginning with doubles, No. 57 Justine Leong and Christina Hand quickly dispatched of their opponents, 6-0, before Maria Shusharina and Britany Lau sealed the deal with a 6-3 victory, putting Northwestern up 1-0.
In singles play, Shusharina, Hand and Lau all came away with another victory each. Lau made quick work of the #6 singles slot, winning 6-0, 6-4. Shusharina came next with a 6-3, 6-3 win in straight sets, and Hand provided the clincher with a comeback 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Juana Larranaga at the number four slot.
Sunday's match against Indiana (6-18, 0-10 B1G) was Senior Day, and the Wildcat seniors impressed against the Hoosiers. At least one senior had a hand in all four points, beginning with another pair of victories for Hand and Leong and Lau and Shusharina during the doubles portion of the afternoon.
Shusharina and Hand completed perfect weekends in singles, coming away with straight-set victories from the one and three positions respectively. Shusharina won 6-1, 6-3 while Hand won 6-2, 6-2. Leong was the deciding match in the contest; after dominating the first set 6-1, Indiana's Elisabeth Dunac took Leong to a tiebreak in the second set. After falling behind early, Leong climbed back to win the round 7-5, locking up a 4-0 sweep for Northwestern.
Claire Pollard's squad will complete their regular season schedule next weekend on the road, visiting Ohio State on Friday and Penn State on Sunday. Friday's match against the Buckeyes will begin at 3:30 p.m. CT and action Sunday is set to start at 11 a.m. CT.
The 'Cats opened their weekend with a 4-1 defeat of the Purdue Boilermakers (11-9, 4-6 B1G). Beginning with doubles, No. 57 Justine Leong and Christina Hand quickly dispatched of their opponents, 6-0, before Maria Shusharina and Britany Lau sealed the deal with a 6-3 victory, putting Northwestern up 1-0.
In singles play, Shusharina, Hand and Lau all came away with another victory each. Lau made quick work of the #6 singles slot, winning 6-0, 6-4. Shusharina came next with a 6-3, 6-3 win in straight sets, and Hand provided the clincher with a comeback 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Juana Larranaga at the number four slot.
Sunday's match against Indiana (6-18, 0-10 B1G) was Senior Day, and the Wildcat seniors impressed against the Hoosiers. At least one senior had a hand in all four points, beginning with another pair of victories for Hand and Leong and Lau and Shusharina during the doubles portion of the afternoon.
Shusharina and Hand completed perfect weekends in singles, coming away with straight-set victories from the one and three positions respectively. Shusharina won 6-1, 6-3 while Hand won 6-2, 6-2. Leong was the deciding match in the contest; after dominating the first set 6-1, Indiana's Elisabeth Dunac took Leong to a tiebreak in the second set. After falling behind early, Leong climbed back to win the round 7-5, locking up a 4-0 sweep for Northwestern.
Claire Pollard's squad will complete their regular season schedule next weekend on the road, visiting Ohio State on Friday and Penn State on Sunday. Friday's match against the Buckeyes will begin at 3:30 p.m. CT and action Sunday is set to start at 11 a.m. CT.