Northwestern women’s tennis falls to Michigan in the final of the Big Ten Tournament

Northwestern women’s tennis was defeated by Michigan 4-3 in the championsjip round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Wildcats picked up the doubles point and were up 3-2 with the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches to play, but Michigan won both in three-setters to win the title.

The Wildcats entered the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 1 seed and undefeated in Big Ten play. Northwestern cruised past Maryland and Ohio State in the opening two rounds of the competition behind its excellent doubles pairings and solid play from Erin Larner and Maddie Lipp. After two dominant wins, it looked like Northwestern could be set to complete the regular season and Big Ten Tournament titles, but it wasn’t meant to be.

However, No. 23 Michigan had played Northwestern close in the regular season, and the championship match was no different. Kate Fahey got revenge for her loss to Erin Larner in the regular season. Chiara Lommer barely edged Maddie Lipp in the final match to secure Michigan the championship.

This is a tough loss for Northwestern, but the Wildcats will have the NCAA Tournament to look forward to. Northwestern could have a national championship doubles team and some hope at making a deep run at the team competition. The loss will string for a while, but Northwestern still went 21-5 this season, won a regular season conference title, and will finish the season ranked in the top 15 nationally.