Women's Tennis Hosts Indiana and Purdue for Weekend Homestand

Saturday, March 21

Evanston, Ill.

12 p.m. CT

Northwestern

Indiana

Photo by: Colleen Charchut/Northwestern Athletics

Women's Tennis Hosts Indiana and Purdue for Weekend Homestand

3/20/2026 6:47:00 PM | Women's Tennis

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern women's tennis plays its first Big Ten matches at home this weekend, facing No. 69 Indiana on Saturday, March 21, at noon CT and No. 61 Purdue on Sunday, March 22, at 3 p.m. CT.

This past weekend, the Wildcats (8-6, 1-2 Big Ten) fell to Illinois, 4-3. Northwestern won the doubles point after sophomore Erica Jessel and first-year Margot Phanthala's match at No. 1 decided the point. The two defeated the No. 86 doubles team in the country, while saving a match point. Sophomore Mika Dagan Fruchtman cruised to victory in singles action, earning a 6-3, 6-1 result at the No. 4 position, and Jessel registered a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback at No. 6 singles.

Phanthala and Jessel moved up to the No. 27-ranked doubles team in the nation and are now the fifth-highest-ranked duo in the Big Ten. The pairing, which is 6-1 on the season together, is the highest-ranked Wildcat duo since Sept. 5, 2023, when Christina Hand and Justine Leong were ranked No. 26. Phanthala and Jessel have two wins over ranked doubles teams and have won four straight matches. Dagan Fruchtman and junior Neena Feldman crack the ITA's doubles rankings as well, slotting in as the No. 81 team in the nation.

Phanthala, who has played all of her matches at the No. 1 singles position this season, is ranked as the ITA's No. 87 singles player in the country, the 16th-ranked player in the Big Ten. She is the first Northwestern player to crack the top 100 in the singles rankings since April 1, 2025, when Sydney Pratt was ranked No. 99. Additionally, she is the second-highest-ranked first-year in the conference and the first Wildcat first-year to be ranked in the top 100 since April 14, 2021, when Maria Shusharina was ranked No. 91.

Dagan Fruchtman and junior Autumn Rabjohns are tied for the most singles wins on the team with nine. Dagan Fruchtman holds a 9-4 record, surpassing her total wins from last season (2-12) by over fourfold. Rabjohns is 9-3 on the season, with two of her three losses coming to nationally-ranked players. She has also already surpassed her total wins from last season (8-5).

First-year Marelie Raath leads the team in wins with 17, having seven singles wins alongside a 10-3 doubles record. Her 10 doubles wins lead the team. Raath's seven singles wins are the most by a Northwestern first-year since Sydney Pratt had 12 in the 2022 dual season.

The Wildcats have won 35 consecutive matches against the Hoosiers (11-4, 1-1 Big Ten), dating back to 1998. Indiana is coming off a weekend in which it fell to Wisconsin before defeating Minnesota. Hi'ilani Williams, playing primarily at No. 5 singles, leads the teams in singles wins with seven (7-1), and Williams has teamed up with Ale Teodosescu to post a 12-2 record at No. 1 doubles this season.

Northwestern also leads the all-time series against the Boilermakers (6-5, 2-1 Big Ten), 48-1. Since the lone loss in program history in 2012, the Wildcats have won 12 straight matches over Purdue. The Boilermakers are led by Ece Gence, who has a 9-2 record at the No. 1 singles position. Kathryn Wilson, who plays mainly at No. 5, ranks second on the team in singles wins with six (6-4).

Northwestern makes its penultimate road trip of the season next weekend, when it travels to play No. 21 Washington on Friday, March 27, at 6 p.m. CT and No. 64 Oregon on Sunday, March 29, at 1 p.m. CT.