EVANSTON, Ill. - Following a 5-1 performance in her first weekend of collegiate tennis, Northwestern first-year Philippa Färber has been named the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Week, the conference announced on Wednesday.
Competing at the Spartan Invite in East Lansing, Mich., Färber went undefeated in doubles action, picking up three wins with three different partners. In the opening match, she teamed up with Katya Shepherd Johnson for an 8-3 victory over Elise Barnstedt and Elena Duva of Marquette. She followed up with an 8-6 victory alongside partner Erica Jessel, defeating Eastern Michigan’s Maria Batinic and Pehal Kharadkar. Finally, Färber and Miami transfer Aely Arai capped off the weekend with another 8-6 win over Roberta Sechi and Yasemin Pehlivan of DePaul.
In singles action, Färber fared almost as well, winning a pair of matches on Saturday and Sunday. After dropping the first singles match of her weekend, the first-year bounced back with a dominant 6-3, 6-0 win over Batinic (EMU) for her first singles victory as a Wildcat. She followed up with a comeback win on Sunday, besting Emmerson White of Marquette by a final score of 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
The sole first-year on head coach Claire Pollard’s roster, Färber is the first Wildcat to earn Freshman of the Week honors since Margot Phanthala on January 21, 2026.
The ‘Cats will return to action this weekend at the ITA Midwest Regional in Champaign, Ill. Play at the tournament begins on Thursday with qualifying matches and extends through Monday’s championship matches.