Northwestern University Athletics
Alicia Barnett Named Big Ten Athlete of the Week
4/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern junior Alicia Barnett was named Co-Athlete of the Week in the Big Ten, the conference announced Tuesday.
Barnett shares her first weekly award with Illinois' Melissa Kopinski, who was also recognized.
Playing at No. 1 in both singles and doubles over the weekend, Barnett led the Wildcats to a pair of 7-0 shutouts over Iowa and Nebraska. She went a combined 4-0 in the Northwestern wins.
Barnett won both of her singles matches in straight sets, beating Iowa's Morven McCulloch, 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday before notching another against Nebraska's Maggy Lehmicke, 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Sunday. Barnett partnered with Erin Larner in doubles for a pair of wins as well. The duo beat the Hawkeyes' McCulloch and Annette Dohanics, 8-4 and the Huskers' Izabella Zgierska and Mary Hanna, 8-1.
The Wildcats won four consecutive matches to close out the regular season by a combined score of 27-1. Barnett has played a significant role during that stretch, winning four matches in a row and securing a winning record in Big Ten play. She has 10 dual wins and two victories over ranked opponents.
This week marks the second Big Ten Athlete of the Week award for Northwestern. Larner won it on Jan. 27 after a dominant effort during ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
Northwestern hosts the 2015 Big Ten Tournament, which is set to begin Thursday at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center. The third-seeded Wildcats play Illinois in the quarterfinals on Friday.
