Northwestern’s past weekend was a packed one. The men’s side continued its success in doubleheaders by sweeping Xavier and Chicago State, while the women’s side suffered its first loss of the season to
No. 12 Vanderbilt.
The men improved their record to 6-2, marking its best start to a dual season since 2022. Its dominance has largely hinged on strong doubles play, which was on display this weekend. Facing the Musketeers (1-5), the ‘Cats rode a strong showing from Chad Miller and Cooper Han in the No. 3 spot, as they won their matchup 6-1. Greyson Casey and Carter Pete also picked up a 6-2 win at No. 1, continuing an impressive start to the year for the pairing.
In No. 2 singles, Pate won two straight games 6-2, 6-2 for his second point of the day, while No. 5 Miller turned a 6-3, 6-0 performance. Ethan Schiffman secured a Wildcat victory 7-6(2), 6-4 in No.4 singles.
The 4-0 match score marked Northwestern’s second sweep of the season, with its previous one coming against IU Indy on January 24.
After a short break, the ‘Cats took the court again later that day and garnered their strongest win of the season — a 7-0 rout of Chicago State (0-5). In doubles, both No.1 Schiffman and Cyrus Mahjoob and No. 2 Pate and Owen Megargee won their respective matches 6-1 to give the Wildcats the doubles point.
Han was the match’s star in singles, as he took advantage of playing in the highest position of his career at No. 5 to record a 6-0, 6-0 win. He became the first Wildcat to not concede a game this year, as his performance quickly gave NU a 2-0 lead in singles, and solidified his status as one of NU’s strongest freshmen and a successful blue-chip recruit.
Sophomore Dylan Charlap made his spring singles debut in the No. 6 position, where he posted a 6-1, 6-1 win. No. 4 Miler clinched the doubleheader sweep on a 6-1, 6-2 victory — one that extended NU’s match streak to six games, the largest since 2023.
The women brought an undefeated record down south to Tennessee, where the Wildcats improved their record to 5-0 after crushing Middle Tennessee 7-0. However, they were met with a reality check from No. 12 Vanderbilt (5-0), who swept NU 6-0.
Despite the score, there were several contentious matchups against the Commodores. First-year Margot Phanthala faced off against Vanderbilt’s Célia-Belle Mohr, who was the runner-up in last year’s NCAA Doubles Championship. Phanthala battled back against Mohr, winning the second set 6-4 to prompt a match tiebreak. However, Phanthala lost 6-10 in the final set.
No. 3 Autumn Rabjohns nearly secured an upset win over Bridget Stammel, who is ITA’s No.33-ranked player. Rabjohns snatched the momentum with a 6-3 victory in set one, but came up short in the second set and tiebreaker, losing 3-6 and 7-10, respectively.
Despite the loss, the Wildcats’ 5-1 start to the year is their best since 2020. The women will carry that record into the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which they’ll host from Feb. 6-10. Meanwhile, the men will swap states with the women and head down to Tennessee for a match against Memphis on Sunday.
