MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - No. 37 Northwestern split a pair of matches this weekend, falling 4-3 to No. 30 Wisconsin on Friday at home before sweeping Minnesota 7-0 on Sunday in Minneapolis. The weekend moved the 'Cats to 14-6 overall, including a 5-2 mark in conference play.
To begin Friday's match against the Badgers (16-2, 7-0 B1G), the 'Cats earned the first advantage by taking the doubles point. The No. 39 pairing of Justine Leong and Christina Hand beat their opponents 6-0, then Maria Shusharina and Britany Lau combined for a 6-2 win to lock up the point and put Northwestern up 1-0.
Shusharina's afternoon continued with another victory, this one at #1 singles, where she defeated her opponent 6-3, 6-0. Wisconsin took the next two points at the second and fifth courts to put themselves on the board and knot the match at two apiece. The Badgers then took the lead with a victory at #6, but Hand evened things out again with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at #4. The match came down to #3 singles, where Sydney Pratt battled Wisconsin's Taylor Cataldi. Though both sets went nearly to the wire, Cataldi edged out a 7-5, 6-4 win to claim the seventh point of the match, giving Wisconsin a 4-3 victory.
The 'Cats' weekend continued in Minneapolis, where they took on the Gophers (10-9, 3-4 B1G) Sunday afternoon. Once again, Northwestern clinched the doubles point with victories from Hand and Leong (6-1) as well as Lau and Shusharina (6-1).
Up 1-0, the team's dominance continued into the singles round. Lau finished first with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the sixth position. She was followed by Leong (6-3, 6-4) and then Hand, who clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at #4 singles. Pratt and Kiley Rabjohns both played out super tiebreak sets to win their matches - Pratt 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 11-9 and Rabjohns 6-4, 1-6, 13-11. Finally, Shusharina completed her perfect weekend with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory at #1 to secure the 7-0 sweep for Northwestern.
Up next for the Wildcats is a pair of home dual matches against Purdue and Indiana. Friday, they'll take on the Boilermakers at 4:30 p.m., then Sunday they'll face the Hoosiers at noon.
To begin Friday's match against the Badgers (16-2, 7-0 B1G), the 'Cats earned the first advantage by taking the doubles point. The No. 39 pairing of Justine Leong and Christina Hand beat their opponents 6-0, then Maria Shusharina and Britany Lau combined for a 6-2 win to lock up the point and put Northwestern up 1-0.
Shusharina's afternoon continued with another victory, this one at #1 singles, where she defeated her opponent 6-3, 6-0. Wisconsin took the next two points at the second and fifth courts to put themselves on the board and knot the match at two apiece. The Badgers then took the lead with a victory at #6, but Hand evened things out again with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at #4. The match came down to #3 singles, where Sydney Pratt battled Wisconsin's Taylor Cataldi. Though both sets went nearly to the wire, Cataldi edged out a 7-5, 6-4 win to claim the seventh point of the match, giving Wisconsin a 4-3 victory.
The 'Cats' weekend continued in Minneapolis, where they took on the Gophers (10-9, 3-4 B1G) Sunday afternoon. Once again, Northwestern clinched the doubles point with victories from Hand and Leong (6-1) as well as Lau and Shusharina (6-1).
Up 1-0, the team's dominance continued into the singles round. Lau finished first with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the sixth position. She was followed by Leong (6-3, 6-4) and then Hand, who clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at #4 singles. Pratt and Kiley Rabjohns both played out super tiebreak sets to win their matches - Pratt 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 11-9 and Rabjohns 6-4, 1-6, 13-11. Finally, Shusharina completed her perfect weekend with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory at #1 to secure the 7-0 sweep for Northwestern.
Up next for the Wildcats is a pair of home dual matches against Purdue and Indiana. Friday, they'll take on the Boilermakers at 4:30 p.m., then Sunday they'll face the Hoosiers at noon.