Wisconsin Badgers
Northwestern
Badgers host Northwestern and Illinois
March 04, 2025 | Women's Tennis
Wisconsin looks to break NCAA attendance record
MADISON, Wis. - The No. 17 Wisconsin women's tennis team will host the Northwestern Wildcats on Friday, March 7th, and the Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday, March 9th.
BADGERS IN THE RANKINGS: The Badgers jumped up three spots in this week's ITA rankings after a sweep over the Minnesota Gophers, 4-0. Maria Sholokhova is back up to No. 5 in the ITA singles rankings following a dominant weekend in Minnesota. Taylor Cataldi enters the weekend just outside the top 100, at No. 107. However, Cataldi and Ellison Reynoldson are No. 62 in the Doubles rankings.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: The Wildcats come into Friday's matchup with a record of 7-5. This record could be slightly misleading, as the Wildcats have faced stiff competition to begin their season. They have losses against No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Stanford, and No. 15 Pepperdine. In their last matchup, Northwestern built up momentum by beating the No. 30 Kansas Jayhawks on the road. Longtime Wildcats head coach, Claire Pollard, enters her 24th season at the helm in Evanston. Over that time she has built up the women's tennis program at Northwestern by appearing in 22 straight NCAA tournaments at one point. The Wildcats have a relatively young team, although they are led by graduate transfer Britany Lau who is in her sixth season of college tennis.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI: The Fighting Illini, similar to Northwestern, have a less than impressive record due to the level of competition they have faced. They are currently 5-6 with losses to three top ten teams to this point. Head coach Evan Clark, has been with the team since 2014, and was hired as head coach in 2016. Since then Clark is 132-87 at Illinois and 66-31 in Big Ten play. The Illini have an experienced roster with 5 upperclassmen including three seniors.
LAST TIME OUT: The Badgers took down their B1G rival the Minnesota Gophers last time out making it their 4th win in a row over Minnesota. It was the Badgers third sweep in a row as they haven't conceded a single point since their match against Arkansas nearly a month ago.
1K DAY: The Badgers will attempt to set the NCAA attendance record on Friday, March 7th against Northwestern. The goal is to get 1,000 Badgers fans to the Nielsen Tennis Stadium. There will be prizes, swag, DJ, and a $1,000 cash giveaway. The match begins at 5 PM CST at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
