Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, April 17
College Park, Md.
1 p.m. CT
Northwestern
at
Maryland
Photo by: Colleen Charchut/Northwestern Athletics
Women's Tennis Wraps Up Regular Season at Maryland and Rutgers
4/16/2026 6:37:00 PM | Women's Tennis
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — No. 57-ranked Northwestern closes out the regular season on the road, facing No. 45 Maryland in College Park, Md. on Friday, April 17, at 1 p.m. CT and Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. on Sunday, April 19, at 11 a.m. CT.
This past weekend, the Wildcats (13-10, 5-6 Big Ten) closed their weekend by sweeping Chicago State 4-0 after suffering setbacks to No. 10 USC and No. 16 UCLA. Against the Cougars, Northwestern won 48-of-50 (96.0%) games in completed matches. After claiming the doubles point, first-year Marelie Raath secured a 6-0, 6-0 victory, junior Katya Shepherd Johnson won 6-1, 6-0, and junior Neena Feldman clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-0 result.
Erica Jessel and Margot Phanthala are now the No. 38-ranked doubles team in the nation, the seventh-highest ranked duo in the Big Ten. The pairing is 9-5 on the season, with four wins over ranked doubles teams. They are 7-4 at the No. 1 slot, the most wins by a Northwestern duo since the 2024 dual season, when Maria Shusharina and Britany Lau had 18 wins together. Jessel and Phanthala's nine total wins are the most by any Wildcat duo this season.
Phanthala, who has played all of her matches at the No. 1 singles position this season, is ranked as the ITA's No. 91 singles player in the country, the 17th-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. She is the first Wildcat first-year to be ranked in the top 100 since April 14, 2021, when Shusharina was ranked No. 91. She has seven singles wins at the No. 1 position, the most by a Northwestern first-year at No. 1 singles since at least 2019. Phanthala is the first Northwestern player to be ranked in the top 100 in singles and part of a top 50 doubles team since Justine Leong held the No. 88 singles spot and No. 39 doubles position on April 2, 2024.
Autumn Rabjohns — primarily playing at No. 3 singles — is tied for the most singles wins on the team with 12. She holds a 12-5 record, with four of her five losses coming to the nationally-ranked players. In addition, nine of Rabjohns' 12 wins have come with her dropping just five games or fewer. She has the best win percentage on the team in singles (70.6%). Sophomore Mika Dagan Fruchtman is tied with Rabjohns with 12 singles wins (12-8), surpassing her total wins from last season (2-12) by sixfold.
Raath leads the team in total wins with 24, having an 11-5 singles record alongside a 13-8 doubles record. Her 13 doubles victories lead the team. Raath's 24 wins are the most by a Northwestern first-year since Sydney Pratt also had 24 in the 2022 dual season, and her 11 singles wins are the most by a Wildcat first-year since Pratt had 12 that season. She has won a team-best four consecutive completed matches in singles. Raath and Feldman are 7-1 in doubles together, playing exclusively at the No. 2 slot.
Jessel has a 7-3 record in singles this season. Last season, she totaled six singles wins. In doubles this season, she is 10-4.
Northwestern is 9-0 all-time against the Terrapins (15-5, 7-4 Big Ten), with all contests coming since the 2015 dual season. The teams last faced off in College Park during the 2023 dual season. Maryland, which is yet to lose at home this season, comes off a weekend in which it fell to Michigan before defeating Michigan State on the road. The Terrapins' seven Big Ten wins are tied for the program record for most Big Ten wins in a season. Maryland is led by Oliwia Orlinska, the No. 101-ranked player in the country. Diya Challa and Emma Ghirardato, the Terrapins' No. 1 doubles team, are the No. 74-ranked pairing nationally.
The Wildcats are also 9-0 all-time against the Scarlet Knights (8-13, 1-10 Big Ten). Rutgers, coming off losses to Michigan State and Michigan, has the second-worst record in the Big Ten. Northwestern is visiting the Scarlet Knights for the first time since the 2023 campaign. Savannah Cohen, who plays primarily at the No. 6 slot, leads Rutgers in singles wins during the dual season with eight. Zuzanna Frankowska, the team's No. 2, is the only other player on the team with a winning record during the dual season, as she has a 6-4 record.
Against the Terrapins, the Wildcats are seeking their highest-ranked victory of the season.
Following the conclusion of the regular season on Sunday, the Big Ten's top 12 teams advance to the conference tournament, which is to be played in Columbus, Ohio, from April 23-26. Northwestern is currently tied for the ninth-best record in the conference.
This past weekend, the Wildcats (13-10, 5-6 Big Ten) closed their weekend by sweeping Chicago State 4-0 after suffering setbacks to No. 10 USC and No. 16 UCLA. Against the Cougars, Northwestern won 48-of-50 (96.0%) games in completed matches. After claiming the doubles point, first-year Marelie Raath secured a 6-0, 6-0 victory, junior Katya Shepherd Johnson won 6-1, 6-0, and junior Neena Feldman clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-0 result.
Erica Jessel and Margot Phanthala are now the No. 38-ranked doubles team in the nation, the seventh-highest ranked duo in the Big Ten. The pairing is 9-5 on the season, with four wins over ranked doubles teams. They are 7-4 at the No. 1 slot, the most wins by a Northwestern duo since the 2024 dual season, when Maria Shusharina and Britany Lau had 18 wins together. Jessel and Phanthala's nine total wins are the most by any Wildcat duo this season.
Phanthala, who has played all of her matches at the No. 1 singles position this season, is ranked as the ITA's No. 91 singles player in the country, the 17th-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. She is the first Wildcat first-year to be ranked in the top 100 since April 14, 2021, when Shusharina was ranked No. 91. She has seven singles wins at the No. 1 position, the most by a Northwestern first-year at No. 1 singles since at least 2019. Phanthala is the first Northwestern player to be ranked in the top 100 in singles and part of a top 50 doubles team since Justine Leong held the No. 88 singles spot and No. 39 doubles position on April 2, 2024.
Autumn Rabjohns — primarily playing at No. 3 singles — is tied for the most singles wins on the team with 12. She holds a 12-5 record, with four of her five losses coming to the nationally-ranked players. In addition, nine of Rabjohns' 12 wins have come with her dropping just five games or fewer. She has the best win percentage on the team in singles (70.6%). Sophomore Mika Dagan Fruchtman is tied with Rabjohns with 12 singles wins (12-8), surpassing her total wins from last season (2-12) by sixfold.
Raath leads the team in total wins with 24, having an 11-5 singles record alongside a 13-8 doubles record. Her 13 doubles victories lead the team. Raath's 24 wins are the most by a Northwestern first-year since Sydney Pratt also had 24 in the 2022 dual season, and her 11 singles wins are the most by a Wildcat first-year since Pratt had 12 that season. She has won a team-best four consecutive completed matches in singles. Raath and Feldman are 7-1 in doubles together, playing exclusively at the No. 2 slot.
Jessel has a 7-3 record in singles this season. Last season, she totaled six singles wins. In doubles this season, she is 10-4.
Northwestern is 9-0 all-time against the Terrapins (15-5, 7-4 Big Ten), with all contests coming since the 2015 dual season. The teams last faced off in College Park during the 2023 dual season. Maryland, which is yet to lose at home this season, comes off a weekend in which it fell to Michigan before defeating Michigan State on the road. The Terrapins' seven Big Ten wins are tied for the program record for most Big Ten wins in a season. Maryland is led by Oliwia Orlinska, the No. 101-ranked player in the country. Diya Challa and Emma Ghirardato, the Terrapins' No. 1 doubles team, are the No. 74-ranked pairing nationally.
The Wildcats are also 9-0 all-time against the Scarlet Knights (8-13, 1-10 Big Ten). Rutgers, coming off losses to Michigan State and Michigan, has the second-worst record in the Big Ten. Northwestern is visiting the Scarlet Knights for the first time since the 2023 campaign. Savannah Cohen, who plays primarily at the No. 6 slot, leads Rutgers in singles wins during the dual season with eight. Zuzanna Frankowska, the team's No. 2, is the only other player on the team with a winning record during the dual season, as she has a 6-4 record.
Against the Terrapins, the Wildcats are seeking their highest-ranked victory of the season.
Following the conclusion of the regular season on Sunday, the Big Ten's top 12 teams advance to the conference tournament, which is to be played in Columbus, Ohio, from April 23-26. Northwestern is currently tied for the ninth-best record in the conference.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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