Friday, February 21
Evanston, Ill.
4 p.m. CT
Northwestern
2
vs
4
Vanderbilt
Photo by: Colleen Charchut/Northwestern Athletics
Comeback 'Cats Upset No. 30 Kansas on the Road
2/23/2025 10:41:00 PM | Women's Tennis
LAWRENCE, Kan. - No. 47 Northwestern women's tennis (7-5) pulled off a thrilling upset of No. 30 Kansas (6-4) in comeback fashion on Sunday, defeating the Jayhawks 4-3 on the road. The victory capped off a 1-1 weekend for the 'Cats to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule.
After dropping the doubles point and both No. 1 and No. 2 singles to Kansas, the Wildcats faced a daunting task. Additionally, of the remaining four singles courts, three had seen first sets go the Jayhawks' way.
At the No. 3 spot, graduate student Britany Lau fell 3-6 in the first set before pushing her second set to a tiebreak, which she narrowly won, 7-5, to even her match at a set apiece. From there, she dominated down the stretch, wrapping up a 6-0 final set to provide Northwestern's first point of the afternoon.
Like Lau, Kiley Rabjohns fell behind early to her opponent at No. 5 singles. Kansas' Jasmine Adams won every game of the first set, but Rabjohns bounced back with a solid 6-3 win in the second. With the match on the line, the senior then came out on top of a third-set tiebreak, 7-5, to keep the 'Cats' hopes alive.
Sydney Pratt was the lone Wildcat to win a first set in singles action, picking up her own tiebreak victory 7-6 (7-2) to take the first lead at the No. 4 position. Following a 4-6 defeat in set two, Pratt closed out her match with a 6-3 third-set victory to tie the team score up at three all.
The deciding match came on court six, where Neena Feldman had drawn even with opponent Anna Putilina after two sets. Down 3-2 in the third, Feldman broke Putilina to tie the match, then never looked back. The sophomore won four straight games to secure a 6-3 victory for herself and a 4-3 win for the 'Cats.
The individual wins were the second of the weekend for both Pratt and Feldman, who also each picked up a win in Friday's 4-2 loss to No. 31 Vanderbilt (7-1) at Combe Tennis Center. Despite those victories, Northwestern couldn't keep pace with the Commodores, who captured the doubles point and singles victories at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 positions to lock up the victory over the 'Cats.
With this afternoon's win over Kansas, Northwestern wrapped up a tough non-conference schedule on a high note. Pratt and Feldman both completed their non-conference seasons undefeated in singles action; Pratt went a perfect 8-0 (three unfinished) with wins at four different singles spots. Feldman won all seven singles matches she appeared in, also playing in four different slots.
Next up, the Wildcats will turn their attention to the Big Ten, with conference action set to begin on the road in two weeks. Northwestern will visit No. 17 Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener on Friday, March 7, before heading to Minneapolis to take on No. 64 Minnesota the following Sunday.
After dropping the doubles point and both No. 1 and No. 2 singles to Kansas, the Wildcats faced a daunting task. Additionally, of the remaining four singles courts, three had seen first sets go the Jayhawks' way.
At the No. 3 spot, graduate student Britany Lau fell 3-6 in the first set before pushing her second set to a tiebreak, which she narrowly won, 7-5, to even her match at a set apiece. From there, she dominated down the stretch, wrapping up a 6-0 final set to provide Northwestern's first point of the afternoon.
Like Lau, Kiley Rabjohns fell behind early to her opponent at No. 5 singles. Kansas' Jasmine Adams won every game of the first set, but Rabjohns bounced back with a solid 6-3 win in the second. With the match on the line, the senior then came out on top of a third-set tiebreak, 7-5, to keep the 'Cats' hopes alive.
Sydney Pratt was the lone Wildcat to win a first set in singles action, picking up her own tiebreak victory 7-6 (7-2) to take the first lead at the No. 4 position. Following a 4-6 defeat in set two, Pratt closed out her match with a 6-3 third-set victory to tie the team score up at three all.
The deciding match came on court six, where Neena Feldman had drawn even with opponent Anna Putilina after two sets. Down 3-2 in the third, Feldman broke Putilina to tie the match, then never looked back. The sophomore won four straight games to secure a 6-3 victory for herself and a 4-3 win for the 'Cats.
The individual wins were the second of the weekend for both Pratt and Feldman, who also each picked up a win in Friday's 4-2 loss to No. 31 Vanderbilt (7-1) at Combe Tennis Center. Despite those victories, Northwestern couldn't keep pace with the Commodores, who captured the doubles point and singles victories at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 positions to lock up the victory over the 'Cats.
With this afternoon's win over Kansas, Northwestern wrapped up a tough non-conference schedule on a high note. Pratt and Feldman both completed their non-conference seasons undefeated in singles action; Pratt went a perfect 8-0 (three unfinished) with wins at four different singles spots. Feldman won all seven singles matches she appeared in, also playing in four different slots.
Next up, the Wildcats will turn their attention to the Big Ten, with conference action set to begin on the road in two weeks. Northwestern will visit No. 17 Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener on Friday, March 7, before heading to Minneapolis to take on No. 64 Minnesota the following Sunday.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Celia-Belle Mohr / 0 (46/-) [VANDY-W]
66
20
#2 Singles Match
123
Valeria Ray / 0 (94/-) [VANDY-W]
366
632
#3 Singles Match
12
Bridget Stammel / 0 (41/-) [VANDY-W]
76
51
#4 Singles Match
12
Sonya Macavei / 0 [VANDY-W]
23
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Trinetra Vijayakumar / 0 [VANDY-W]
370
66UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Sophia Webster / 0 [VANDY-W]
22
66
Order of Finish:
1,4,3,6,2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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