With conference play in full swing, Northwestern men’s and women’s tennis teams hit the road this weekend to face stiff Big Ten competition. The men (13-10, 1-7 B1G) battled in a tight loss to Penn State before falling to No. 2 Ohio State, while the women (11-7, 4-3 B1G) dropped a match to No. 20 Washington but bounced back with a gritty win over No. 53 Oregon.
Men’s Tennis
Penn State 4, Northwestern 3
The Wildcats got off to a fast start against the Nittany Lions, jumping ahead 1-0 on a disputed doubles point.
Owen Megargee and Cooper Han had a strong start in the No. 3 spot, picking up a 6-3 win after pulling ahead in five of the last six games, while Ethan Schiffman and Cyrus Mahjoob secured a 6-4 victory in the No. 2 slot.
The Wildcats’ lead grew to 2-0 after Carter Pate continued his season-long dominance in singles, earning a team-leading 13th singles win in the No. 1 position. No. 3 Greyson Casey also put together his first conference win in singles this season, posting 6-2 and 6-3 wins to draw NU closer to victory. But with the ‘Cats just one point shy, Penn State stormed back with phenomenal singles play down the stretch to win the three remaining games and hand NU a close loss.
Ohio State 5, Northwestern 0
NU had no answers for the Buckeyes, who quickly outlasted the ‘Cats in the doubles points with 6-4 and 6-3 victories in No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, respectively. In No. 1 play, Casey and Pate were tasked with the toughest challenge, as they faced off against Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin — the top-ranked doubles team in the country. However, the Wildcats fared well and led 5-4 over the nation’s best when doubles play concluded.
While that performance provided reason for optimism, the singles results were ones to forget, as the ‘Cats dropped three matches by a combined 18-2 margin, sealing a sweep for Ohio State.
Up next, the men’s squad returns to Evanston to face Purdue and No. 60 Indiana, where the program will honor the team’s graduating players during Senior Weekend.
Women’s Tennis
Washington 4, Northwestern 0
In Friday’s contest, the ‘Cats were outplayed by a top-20 team in the nation, falling to the Huskies after losing in doubles, No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles. The bright spots from this defeat came from the competitiveness of many unfinished matches, including Mika Dagan Fruchtman winning 7-5, 2-1 before the match was called. Similarly, Autumn Rabjohns won her second set 6-4 and held a 1-0 lead before Washington sealed its win.
Northwestern 4, Oregon 3
NU earned its highest-ranked win of the season against Oregon, powered by its singles play. Despite the No. 1 team of Erica Jessel and Margot Phanthala winning their match 6-3, the Wildcats fell short in the doubles point, putting pressure on singles to deliver. And countless players did, including Rabjohns, who picked up her 12th singles win of the season, which is a team-high. Neena Feldman also won in straight sets in the No. 2 spot, while Erica Jessel padded NU’s lead with a thrilling 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 win to improve her singles record to 6-1 on the season.
With the ‘Cats ahead 3-1, Oregon closed the gap with strong performances in No. 1 and No. 4 singles. With the score knotted, freshman Marelie Raath’s match in the No. 6 spot was the deciding factor. In the biggest moment of her career, Raath showed resilience when the stakes were highest, gutting out a 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-4) win in a third-set tiebreaker to give the Wildcats the match victory.
The women will regroup at home with a matchup against Michigan State and Michigan next weekend.
