University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Northwestern
Minnesota Drops Final Game of Extended Road Trip
3/20/2022 4:15:00 PM | Tennis
Gophers fall 3-4 in matchup with No. 39 Northwestern
The University of Minnesota women's tennis team visited Evanston this afternoon, as they looked to rebound from Friday's defeat in Champaign. Each team came into the match ranked in the top 50 of the most recent ITA poll, Minnesota at No. 42, and Northwestern at No. 39. The hosts continued their winning start to Big Ten play, as they defeated the Gophers one day after their conference opener against Wisconsin.
With today's defeat, Minnesota moves to 12-5 on the season, 0-2 in conference matches. The Gophers return to Baseline Tennis Center next weekend, as their extended streak of road matches comes to a close. They will host Michigan on Friday, in what is likely to be the Gophers third consecutive ranked matchup.
Singles matches were split three games apiece, while Northwestern earned the deciding point via doubles match victories.
In doubles play, Northwestern won matches at No. 1 and No. 3, securing the point for the Wildcats. Dalila Said and Anfisa Danilchenko's match at No. 2 went unfinished on account of prior results.
In singles, Minnesota posted victories at No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4. At the fourth position, Maria Rizzolo picked up her second win of the weekend as she defeated Ema Lazic. At No. 2, Emilee Duong battled back, winning the second and third sets 7-5, and 6-4 to close out her victory. Northwestern won in consecutive sets at positions No. 3 and No. 5. At the sixth spot, Dalila Said forced a third set, but was unable to close out her match against Christina Hand.
At the first position, Rachel Hanford took on the 87th ranked singles player, Clarissa Hand. After a back and forth first set went in favor of Northwestern, Hanford rebounded. Her run to close the second set at 7-5 forced a third, which Hanford won 6-3. This marks Hanford's first ranked victory of the season.
Next Up:
Minnesota returns to Minneapolis next weekend, as they take on Michigan and Michigan State at Baseline Tennis Center. Their match against the Wolverines will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, while the Spartans match is at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. Streaming and live coverage will be available on the GopherSports website, alongside updates at GopherWTennis Twitter.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,5,4,6,2,1
Players Mentioned
