Northwestern women’s tennis’ streak of 22 straight NCAA Tournament bids is officially broken.
The Northwestern men’s and women’s tennis teams have seemed in sync, for better or worse. Both teams entered the Big Ten Tournament as 10 seeds, and both teams were promptly swept by recent foes. The men fell to Michigan, who also swept the ‘Cats in early April, while the women went down against Illinois for the second time in two weeks.
The disappointing end to both seasons signals a step back from last year and potentially an overall trend for the two programs. Legendary women’s head coach Claire Pollard’s streak of 22 straight NCAA Tournament appearances was officially snapped, while Northwestern’s first-round exit in the conference tournament was Pollard’s first since taking over the program in 1999. The ‘Cats also finished with their worst record under Pollard (with the exception the COVID year in 2020) at 12-13 overall and 7-4 in Big Ten play.
The men’s team finished sub .500 in conference for the second year in a row. Their early Big Ten tournament defeat also signaled the program’s worst finish since 2019. However, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network, the ‘Cats garnered the No. 13 recruiting class for 2025 and will reload next season, returning seven of 10 players.
The women put up a fight early against Illinois, as first-year duo Erica Jessel and Mika Dagan Fruchtman picked up a 6-2 victory on the No. 2 doubles court. However, the Fighting Illini would respond with 6-3 wins in the other two matches to secure the doubles point.
Illinois star McKenna Schaefbauer set the tone in singles against Jessel on the No. 1 court with a 6-3, 6-0 victory, and Dagan Fruchtman fell on the No. 6 court, 6-3, 6-2. To complete the sweep, Illinois first-year Ariel Madatali defeated Kiley Rabjohns, 6-3, 6-2. Northwestern’s Neena Feldman, Britany Lau, and Sydney Pratt all split their first two sets but were unable to finish as the Fighting Illini clinched the match.
The men succumbed to a similar fate against Michigan. Doubles were uncompetitive as the Wolverines won 6-2 on the first and third courts, while leading 5-2 on court No. 2 before the match was abandoned.
Unfortunately, Michigan’s experience ultimately overpowered the ‘Cats, as the Wolverines picked up straight set wins at the No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6, outscoring Northwestern in games, 36-6.
Some of the ‘Cats held strong in singles, as Felix Nordby and Chad Miller were each able to pick up a set before their matches were ruled unfinished. Saiprakash Goli was also entangled in a competitive match on the No. 1 court, leading 4-0 in the second set after dropping set one 6-4.
Young talent abounds for both teams. Two underclassmen in freshman Erica Jessel and sophomore Neena Feldman player the No. 1 and No. 2 singles respectively for the women’s team, and the incoming top-15 recruiting bodes well for the men.
Still there are not a lot of positive takeaways from a short-lived postseason.
Both teams won their opening Big Ten Tournament matches in 2024. Two sweeps in the first round are a tough pill to swallow,