EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - The University of Northwestern Women's Tennis team enters the 2026 season with fresh faces and only one returner from last year's lineup. Couple that with that returner's (
Aby Ross (Chico, Calif./Central)) absence in Saturday's season-opening matches in Eau Claire, and there are plenty of questions about what the team will look like this year. To their credit, the Eagles played admirable at the Menard Tennis Center, nearly pulling off a win (3-4) against Concordia University Wisconsin before falling 1-6 to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the nightcap.
Match One: Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons
The match nearly flipped the other way as a result of doubles matches. After CUW claimed a 6-3 win at No. 3 over
Macie Ruddy (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) and
Abby Cimenski (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids), Northwestern's No. 1 team of
Sarah Langridge (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) and
Rein Hayashi (Kyoto, Japan/Kansai Christian School) won 6-2 (the pair's first collegiate win each), meaning the doubles point would be decided by the No. 2 match.
Anne Clarke (Granite Falls, Minn./Yellow Medicine East) and
Hannah Hyttsten (Becker, Minn./Becker) fought hard, but ultimately lost, 3-6.
UNW quickly tied the match thanks to Hayashi's 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles (her first college singles win), but losses by Clarke at No. 3 (2-6, 0-6) and Hyttsten at No. 4 (2-6, 2-6) gave the lead back to the Falcons who only needed one more point to clinch the match. The Eagles battled to tie the match at three, getting big wins from Langridge in the No. 1 match (3-6, 6-3, 10-8) and Cimenski at No. 6 (6-3, 6-0), each's first college singles win. It all came down to the final match of the afternoon at No. 5 singles, where
Macie Ruddy (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) came up short, 0-6, 3-6.
Match Two: University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers
After the heartbreaking loss to the 6-6 Falcons, Northwestern faced another tall task in 8-2 UW-Stevens Point. The Pointers swept the doubles matches, including 6-0, 6-0 wins at No. 2 and No. 3, giving them the early advantage heading into singles play.
The lone Eagle to win a singles match was Hayashi, who continued her impressive debut with a 5-7, 6-1, 10-7 victory in the No. 2 match. Clarke (No. 4) and Cimenski (No. 5) lost by matching 2-6, 1-6 scores, while Langridge was swept 0-6, 0-6 at No. 1. In the No. 3 match, Hyttsten suffered a 3-6, 1-6 defeat, and Ruddy lost by a 0-6, 1-6 margin at No. 6.
Up Next
UNW will head a little further down the road to Madison, Wisconsin next Saturday, February 7th, for a pair of matches against Edgewood and Loras. Festivities are scheduled to begin at 10:30 AM at the Powless Tennis Center.
