On Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, the Raider women’s tennis team traveled to Minnesota to compete in their first two matches of the spring season, starting the season off with a 1-1 record.
On Friday Jan. 31, Northwestern competed against NCAA DII Minnesota State-Mankato in St. Peter, MN, falling 1-6. NW won all three doubles matches, which earned them one team point. They went 0-6 in the singles matches, though.
On Saturday Feb. 1, NW had a clean sweep against Hamline University in Bloomington, MN, finishing 7-0. NW won seven matches and two forfeits.
Though the singles matches against MSM were a battle, NW had solid doubles performances across the board. Senior Zoe Holscher and junior Jacque Ingram won 6-4 at the No. 1 doubles spot. Freshman Annika Spirgath and senior Emma Van Drie won 6-2 at the No. 2 doubles position. At the No. 3 spot, freshman Jessica Wilson and junior Abby Petrick finished at 6-4.
NW had decisive wins for singles and doubles against Hamline. Holscher and Ingram won in a tiebreaker 7-6, 7-5 at the No. 1 doubles spot. At the No. 2 doubles position, Spirgath and Van Drie won 6-4. Wilson and Petrick won at the No. 3 doubles spot by forfeit.
NW also won five singles matches against Hamline and one by forfeit. At No. 1 singles, Spirgath finished 6-3, 6-3. Ingram, at No. 2 singles, won in a set tiebreaker 6-3, 7-6, (7-4). At the No. 3 singles position, Holscher defeated her opponent 6-0, 6-1. Van Drie, at No. 4, finished 6-3, 6-1. At No. 5 singles, Wilson won in a set tiebreaker 6-4, 0-6, (10-8). Junior Anna Weighmink also won by forfeit.
“It was a great effort by all,” said head coach Jamie De Jong. “It was good to get the first couple matches under our belt, and we know some things that we need to work on.”
Holscher said, “After this weekend, it looks like we are going to be very competitive in the GPAC.”
