Issue date: 4/30/07 Section: Sports

By Brian Regan
The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern doesn't just dominate its conference; it has established hegemony over the Big Ten.

The last time a team other than the Wildcats (21-4) won a Big Ten championship was in the spring of 1998, and at Sunday's final, the No. 5 Cats kept it that way to score a place in the history books.

With the help of senior Alexis Prousis, NU won its record-tying ninth-straight Big Ten crown by defeating third-seeded Michigan 4-0 in the final in Minneapolis.

"We came into the season with basically a whole new team," NU coach Claire Pollard said. "It's great for them to win their first title and get that under their belt and knowing what playing in big moments is all about."

NU's weekend began against Penn State (10-13) on Friday, after receiving a first-round bye as the top seed.

Sophomore Georgia Rose returned to the lineup at No. 1 singles for the first time since April 13 and showed some rust.

Rose and Prousis, returning to their No. 1 spot, had their match abandoned at 7-7 when the Cats clinched the doubles point and Rose did not compete in singles competition.

In singles, the Cats won straight-set matches to advance.

Suzie Matzenauer continued to prevent opponents from getting on the board, winning 6-0, 6-0. Lauren Lui and Nazlie Ghazal both extended their winning streaks and Ghazal stayed undefeated in conference play.

The atmosphere the next day against Iowa (12-10) was a little less relaxed, but it also saw the return of Rose to the singles lineup. NU struggled in doubles early, but managed to avoid getting into big holes, especially when Rose and Prousis fought to keep the Hawkeyes from winning a key break point. The Cats prevailed, with Rose and Prousis winning 8-4 and the No. 3 team of Alexis Conill and Samantha Murray capturing their seventh straight match, 8-2.

Matzenauer had a five-set scoreless streak broken by Kelcie Klockenga, but still won 6-0, 6-1, while Ghazal won her 11th-straight match with a victory at No. 5 singles.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools