Northwestern University Athletics
Saturday, April 4
Evanston, Ill.
12 p.m. CT
Northwestern
vs
Michigan State
Women's Tennis Hosts Michigan State, Michigan
4/3/2026 5:23:00 PM | Women's Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. — No. 59-ranked Northwestern begins a five-match homestand, facing No. 75 Michigan State on Saturday, April 4, at noon CT and No. 17 Michigan on Sunday, April 5, at 2 p.m. CT.
This past weekend, the Wildcats (11-7, 4-3 Big Ten) closed their West Coast trip by defeating No. 53 Oregon, 4-3. Though Northwestern dropped the doubles point, junior Autumn Rabjohns notched a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles, and junior Neena Feldman triumphed 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 2 slot to give the Wildcats the lead. Sophomore Erica Jessel, at No. 5 singles, put Northwestern one point away with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 win, and first-year Marelie Raath clinched the match with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-4) result.
The Wildcats' No. 59 ranking is its season-high, and Northwestern's 4-3 record in Big Ten competition is tied for the eighth-best mark in the conference. The Wildcats have won three of their last four matches.
Jessel and first-year Margot Phanthala are the No. 42-ranked doubles team in the nation, the eighth-highest-ranked duo in the Big Ten. The pairing is 7-3 on the season, with two wins over ranked doubles teams. They are 5-2 at the No. 1 slot, the most wins by a Northwestern duo at the top slot since the 2024 dual season, when Justine Leong and Christina Hand had eight wins. Their seven wins are the most by any 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. 89 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 Maria 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.
Rabjohns — primarily playing at No. 3 singles — leads the team in singles wins with 12 on the season. She holds a 12-3 record, with two of her three losses coming to nationally-ranked players. She has won a team-best three consecutive singles matches. In addition, nine of Rabjohns' 12 wins have come with her dropping just five games or fewer. Sophomore Mika Dagan Fruchtman ranks second on the team with 11 singles wins (11-5), surpassing her total wins from last season (2-12) by over five-fold.
Raath leads the team in wins with 19, having a 9-5 singles record alongside 10 doubles wins. Her 10 doubles victories lead the team. Raath's 19 wins are the most by a Northwestern first-year since Pratt had 24 in the 2022 dual season, and her nine singles wins are the most by a Wildcat first-year since Pratt had 12 that season.
Northwestern is 41-2 against the Spartans (9-9, 2-6 Big Ten) all-time. One of the Wildcats' two losses in program history came last season on the road, a 4-2 defeat. Michigan State comes off a weekend in which it fell to Wisconsin before defeating Minnesota. The Spartans have the No. 43 doubles team in the nation in Matilde Morias and Ellie Blackford, who have a 6-3 record at No. 1 doubles. Blackford has a team-high seven singles wins (7-6).
The Wildcats are seeking their first victory over the Wolverines (10-5, 7-1 Big Ten) since April 8, 2018. They have not defeated Michigan at home since April 22, 2016. Northwestern is seeking its first top 25 victory since beating No. 9 Ohio State on Feb. 7, 2021. The Wolverines currently have the best record in the Big Ten and are coming off wins over Minnesota and Wisconsin. Michigan is led by a trio of ranked players in Piper Charney (No. 6), Lily Jones (No. 22), and Reese Miller (No. 112). Jones and Jessica Bernales are the No. 37 doubles team nationally, and Charney and Emily Sartz-Lunde rank as No. 76.
The Wildcats continue their homestand by hosting No. 12 USC on Friday, April 10, at 4:30 p.m. CT, followed by a doubleheader on Sunday, April 12, against No. 18 UCLA at noon CT and Chicago State at 5 p.m. CT.
This past weekend, the Wildcats (11-7, 4-3 Big Ten) closed their West Coast trip by defeating No. 53 Oregon, 4-3. Though Northwestern dropped the doubles point, junior Autumn Rabjohns notched a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles, and junior Neena Feldman triumphed 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 2 slot to give the Wildcats the lead. Sophomore Erica Jessel, at No. 5 singles, put Northwestern one point away with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 win, and first-year Marelie Raath clinched the match with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-4) result.
The Wildcats' No. 59 ranking is its season-high, and Northwestern's 4-3 record in Big Ten competition is tied for the eighth-best mark in the conference. The Wildcats have won three of their last four matches.
Jessel and first-year Margot Phanthala are the No. 42-ranked doubles team in the nation, the eighth-highest-ranked duo in the Big Ten. The pairing is 7-3 on the season, with two wins over ranked doubles teams. They are 5-2 at the No. 1 slot, the most wins by a Northwestern duo at the top slot since the 2024 dual season, when Justine Leong and Christina Hand had eight wins. Their seven wins are the most by any 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. 89 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 Maria 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.
Rabjohns — primarily playing at No. 3 singles — leads the team in singles wins with 12 on the season. She holds a 12-3 record, with two of her three losses coming to nationally-ranked players. She has won a team-best three consecutive singles matches. In addition, nine of Rabjohns' 12 wins have come with her dropping just five games or fewer. Sophomore Mika Dagan Fruchtman ranks second on the team with 11 singles wins (11-5), surpassing her total wins from last season (2-12) by over five-fold.
Raath leads the team in wins with 19, having a 9-5 singles record alongside 10 doubles wins. Her 10 doubles victories lead the team. Raath's 19 wins are the most by a Northwestern first-year since Pratt had 24 in the 2022 dual season, and her nine singles wins are the most by a Wildcat first-year since Pratt had 12 that season.
Northwestern is 41-2 against the Spartans (9-9, 2-6 Big Ten) all-time. One of the Wildcats' two losses in program history came last season on the road, a 4-2 defeat. Michigan State comes off a weekend in which it fell to Wisconsin before defeating Minnesota. The Spartans have the No. 43 doubles team in the nation in Matilde Morias and Ellie Blackford, who have a 6-3 record at No. 1 doubles. Blackford has a team-high seven singles wins (7-6).
The Wildcats are seeking their first victory over the Wolverines (10-5, 7-1 Big Ten) since April 8, 2018. They have not defeated Michigan at home since April 22, 2016. Northwestern is seeking its first top 25 victory since beating No. 9 Ohio State on Feb. 7, 2021. The Wolverines currently have the best record in the Big Ten and are coming off wins over Minnesota and Wisconsin. Michigan is led by a trio of ranked players in Piper Charney (No. 6), Lily Jones (No. 22), and Reese Miller (No. 112). Jones and Jessica Bernales are the No. 37 doubles team nationally, and Charney and Emily Sartz-Lunde rank as No. 76.
The Wildcats continue their homestand by hosting No. 12 USC on Friday, April 10, at 4:30 p.m. CT, followed by a doubleheader on Sunday, April 12, against No. 18 UCLA at noon CT and Chicago State at 5 p.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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