Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, April 10
Evanston, Ill.
4:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern
1
vs
4
USC
Photo by: Kailey Zagst/Northwestern Athletics
NU Concludes 2026 Home Slate With Sweep of Chicago State
4/12/2026 8:35:00 PM | Women's Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. — No. 56 Northwestern closed its 2026 home slate by sweeping Chicago State 4-0 on Sunday night after suffering setbacks to No. 10 USC on Friday night and No. 16 UCLA on Sunday afternoon.
"We've just got to put it all together," Head Coach Claire Pollard said. "There's glimmers. We lost to two top-20 teams. I think we're right there. We're making the margins too thin. We have to make the margins bigger."
In the final contest at Combe Tennis Center this season, the Wildcats (13-10, 5-6 Big Ten) won 48-of-50 (96.0%) games in completed matches against the Cougars (1-23, 1-4 NEC).
The match began with Northwestern swiftly claiming the doubles point. At the No. 3 position, sophomore Mika Dagan Fruchtman and junior Katya Shepherd Johnson recorded a 6-0 victory, followed by the No. 2 pairing of junior Neena Feldman and first-year Marelie Raath winning 6-1. The contest marked Shepherd Johnson's first appearance this dual season.
Singles play was a strong showing for the Wildcats, who tabbed three straight-set wins to earn the sweep. Raath was first to finish, prevailing 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles. Shepherd Johnson, at the No. 6 slot, followed suit with a 6-1, 6-0 victory, and Feldman clinched the match at the No. 2 position with a 6-0, 6-0 result.
Raath has now won her last four completed matches, the longest active winning streak on the team.
"I think she's really enjoying the competitive aspect of things," Pollard said of Raath. "I think she's competing really well. As a freshman, she has really matured."
Northwestern was up a set in all of the singles matches that went unfinished.
On Friday night against the Trojans (17-5, 10-1 Big Ten), the Wildcats fell 4-1, but Head Coach Claire Pollard was pleased with the team's performance
"I'm so proud of the girls," Pollard said. "I'm so proud of how far we've come as a team. They are [No.] 10 in the country, and we had a path to four [points]. I think we're competing really hard. I think they're a very good team, and you would never know whatever we're ranked right now. I think we're playing at a much higher level than that."
After dropping the doubles point and No. 4 and No. 5 singles positions, Northwestern fell into a 3-0 hole.
Feldman put the Wildcats on the board with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 victory at the No. 2 position. However, a USC win at No. 3 singles ended the match.
Though their matches went unfinished, Northwestern's first-years Raath and Margot Phanthala put themselves in position to secure victories. Raath, at No. 6 singles, took her first set 6-2 before dropping the second set 3-6 and was even at 2-2 in the third set. At the No. 1 slot, Phanthala — the No. 90 player nationally — led Jana Hossam, the No. 21 player in the country, 7-6 (10-8), 2-6, 2-0.
Phanthala also led against the No. 6 player in the nation when the match concluded last weekend.
"As a freshman, playing one is brutal," Pollard said of Phanthala. "There's a lot of growing pains for her in lots of areas of college life, but I do think she's turned the corner. I think we finally have a little better understanding of how she needs to play and how we can bring out the best in her."
At Vandy Christie Tennis Center on Sunday, Northwestern fell to the Bruins (13-6, 7-4), 4-1.
Northwestern took an early 1-0 lead by dominating the doubles point. Phanthala and sophomore Erica Jessel, the No. 46 doubles team nationally, triumphed 6-1 over the No. 35 doubles team in the country in Olivia Center and Kate Fakih at the No. 1 slot. Feldman and Raath secured the point with a 6-2 win at the No. 2 position.
"We made a few adjustments," Pollard said of her No. 1 doubles team. "We made a few things we talked about after the match on Friday happen. The score looked bad on Friday, but it was very, very winnable."
Northwestern has won the doubles point in two of its last three matches against top-20 teams.
Northwestern did not win a singles match in the defeat, but Raath and junior Autumn Rabjohns had fighting chances to secure comeback victories. Raath, at No. 6 singles, lost the first set 6-4 but rallied back to win the second set 6-3, while Rabjohns led 5-7, 6-2, 3-1 at the No. 3 spot.
Northwestern concludes its regular season on the road next weekend, traveling to face No. 44 Maryland on Friday, April 17, at 1 p.m. CT and Rutgers on Sunday, April 19, at 11 a.m. CT.
"We've just got to put it all together," Head Coach Claire Pollard said. "There's glimmers. We lost to two top-20 teams. I think we're right there. We're making the margins too thin. We have to make the margins bigger."
In the final contest at Combe Tennis Center this season, the Wildcats (13-10, 5-6 Big Ten) won 48-of-50 (96.0%) games in completed matches against the Cougars (1-23, 1-4 NEC).
The match began with Northwestern swiftly claiming the doubles point. At the No. 3 position, sophomore Mika Dagan Fruchtman and junior Katya Shepherd Johnson recorded a 6-0 victory, followed by the No. 2 pairing of junior Neena Feldman and first-year Marelie Raath winning 6-1. The contest marked Shepherd Johnson's first appearance this dual season.
Singles play was a strong showing for the Wildcats, who tabbed three straight-set wins to earn the sweep. Raath was first to finish, prevailing 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles. Shepherd Johnson, at the No. 6 slot, followed suit with a 6-1, 6-0 victory, and Feldman clinched the match at the No. 2 position with a 6-0, 6-0 result.
Raath has now won her last four completed matches, the longest active winning streak on the team.
"I think she's really enjoying the competitive aspect of things," Pollard said of Raath. "I think she's competing really well. As a freshman, she has really matured."
Northwestern was up a set in all of the singles matches that went unfinished.
On Friday night against the Trojans (17-5, 10-1 Big Ten), the Wildcats fell 4-1, but Head Coach Claire Pollard was pleased with the team's performance
"I'm so proud of the girls," Pollard said. "I'm so proud of how far we've come as a team. They are [No.] 10 in the country, and we had a path to four [points]. I think we're competing really hard. I think they're a very good team, and you would never know whatever we're ranked right now. I think we're playing at a much higher level than that."
After dropping the doubles point and No. 4 and No. 5 singles positions, Northwestern fell into a 3-0 hole.
Feldman put the Wildcats on the board with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 victory at the No. 2 position. However, a USC win at No. 3 singles ended the match.
Though their matches went unfinished, Northwestern's first-years Raath and Margot Phanthala put themselves in position to secure victories. Raath, at No. 6 singles, took her first set 6-2 before dropping the second set 3-6 and was even at 2-2 in the third set. At the No. 1 slot, Phanthala — the No. 90 player nationally — led Jana Hossam, the No. 21 player in the country, 7-6 (10-8), 2-6, 2-0.
Phanthala also led against the No. 6 player in the nation when the match concluded last weekend.
"As a freshman, playing one is brutal," Pollard said of Phanthala. "There's a lot of growing pains for her in lots of areas of college life, but I do think she's turned the corner. I think we finally have a little better understanding of how she needs to play and how we can bring out the best in her."
At Vandy Christie Tennis Center on Sunday, Northwestern fell to the Bruins (13-6, 7-4), 4-1.
Northwestern took an early 1-0 lead by dominating the doubles point. Phanthala and sophomore Erica Jessel, the No. 46 doubles team nationally, triumphed 6-1 over the No. 35 doubles team in the country in Olivia Center and Kate Fakih at the No. 1 slot. Feldman and Raath secured the point with a 6-2 win at the No. 2 position.
"We made a few adjustments," Pollard said of her No. 1 doubles team. "We made a few things we talked about after the match on Friday happen. The score looked bad on Friday, but it was very, very winnable."
Northwestern has won the doubles point in two of its last three matches against top-20 teams.
Northwestern did not win a singles match in the defeat, but Raath and junior Autumn Rabjohns had fighting chances to secure comeback victories. Raath, at No. 6 singles, lost the first set 6-4 but rallied back to win the second set 6-3, while Rabjohns led 5-7, 6-2, 3-1 at the No. 3 spot.
Northwestern concludes its regular season on the road next weekend, traveling to face No. 44 Maryland on Friday, April 17, at 1 p.m. CT and Rutgers on Sunday, April 19, at 11 a.m. CT.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
1
Lily Fairclough/ Krisha Mahendran (24/-) [USC]
6
2
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
1234
Jana Hossam / 0 (21/-) [USC]
6600
722UF
#2 Singles Match
12
Immi Haddad / 0 [USC]
61
76
#3 Singles Match
12
Eugenia Zozaya / 0 (125/-) [USC]
76
62
#4 Singles Match
12
Emma Charney / 0 (51/-) [USC]
66
10
#5 Singles Match
12
Krisha Mahendran / 0 [USC]
66
23
#6 Singles Match
1234
Dani Borruel / 0 [USC]
2620
632UF
Order of Finish:
4,5,2,3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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