Northwestern
Maryland
Top-Seeded 'Cats Trek to Minneapolis for Big Ten Tournament
4/26/2018 3:58:00 PM | Women's Tennis
| NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S TENNIS: GAME DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | VIDEO | LIVE STATS |
| Fri., April 27 | Maryland | 11:30 a.m. | Baseline Tennis Center Minneapolis, Minn. |
GopherSports.com (indoor only) |
GopherSports.com |
| Sat., April 28 | Ohio State or Purdue | 11 a.m. | Baseline Tennis Center Minneapolis, Minn. |
GopherSports.com (indoor only) |
GopherSports.com |
| Sun., April 29 | Championship | Noon | Baseline Tennis Center Minneapolis, Minn. |
BTN (tape delay; airs 4/30 at 5 p.m.) | GopherSports.com |
| Social: Twitter (@NUWildcatTennis) | Instagram (@nuwildcattennis) | Facebook Big Ten Tournament Central |
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WATCH: Coach Pollard Preview | Chatt/Or
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Fresh off a Big Ten regular-season crown, Northwestern turns its sights towards a Big Ten tournament title when it travels to Minneapolis.
The top-seeded Wildcats open tournament play at 11:30 a.m. Friday against ninth-seeded Maryland, a 4-2 winner over host Minnesota in Thursday's opening round. The winner of the match between NU and the Terrapins advances to take on the winner of the match between fourth-seeded Ohio State and fifth-seeded Purdue in Saturday's semifinal round. The championship match is set for Sunday.
Northwestern (19-4) is coming off an unbeaten Big Ten season that saw it go a perfect 11-0. The Wildcats clinched at least of the share of the title with a 6-1 win at Penn State last Friday before claiming the title outright, 4-2, at Ohio State on Sunday.
The regular-season title was NU's 13th under 20th-year head coach Claire Pollard, tying her with former Indiana coach Lin Loring for the most in Big Ten history. The regular season crown is Northwestern's first since 2012 and its first outright and undefeated since 2009.
Under Pollard's guidance, the Big Ten tournament might as well be named the Northwestern Invitational. NU has a remarkable 50-4 record in the conference tourney under Pollard, winning 15 titles including 13 consecutive from 1999-2011. The 'Cats last captured a Big Ten tournament title in 2014.
Since starting the season 3-3, the Wildcats have won 16 of their last 17 matches. The lone defeat was by a 5-2 margin at No. 26 Baylor March 27.
The 2018 #B1GTennis Women's Tennis Tournament Bracket. pic.twitter.com/23qYocwIT7
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) April 23, 2018
Northwestern has a 7-3 record against ranked opponents this season, including a perfect 3-0 mark against teams ranked in the top 10 at the time of the matchup (No. 5 Georgia Tech, No. 5 Illinois, No. 7 Vanderbilt).
NU's lineup is paced by senior Erin Larner who this season became the first Northwestern player since 2009 to go undefeated in both singles and doubles in Big Ten play. In dual match play, Larner is 16-1 in singles, including 11-0 while playing at the top spot in the lineup.
Larner is ranked No. 4 nationally in doubles this week alongside fellow senior Maddie Lipp, while also boasting a No. 37 singles ranking. Lipp is No. 78 in singles and Lee Or comes in at No. 121. Or teams with senior Alex Chatt for a No. 36 ranking in doubles.
Northwestern rolled to a 6-1 win over Maryland in their regular-season matchup March 30 in College Park. The Wildcats have won all four of their previous meetings with the Terrapins.
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