The Rabjons-Jessel pairing is primed to make waves in the Big Ten.
Senior Kiley Rabjons and first-year Erica Jessel bridged an age gap on the way to a 3-1 performance as doubles partners at the Green and White Classic hosted by Michigan State this weekend, leading the way for Northwestern in an up-and-down weekend in East Lansing.
The emergence of the Rabjons/Jessel duo is especially promising as Northwestern begins to rework its doubles lineup after the graduations of Christina Hand, Justice Leong and Maria Shusharina. Northwestern will be without the No. 59 ranked pairing in the country in Hand/Leong, and graduate student Britany Lau, who went 18-1 alongside Shusharina in 2023, will also need to build chemistry with a new partner.
Despite her seniority, Rabjons is by no means a doubles veteran. The former five-star recruit only played in one doubles match all of last season which went down in the scoresheet as unfinished. Perhaps head coach Claire Pollard underestimated her senior’s versatility.
Rabjons/Jessel started out hot on Friday with a 6-4 victory over Xavier’s Natalie Smitek and Sofia Mazzucato, two underclassmen who finished the weekend 2-1. They racked up two more wins on Saturday, dispensing with two more Musketeers, this time upperclassmen Emily Flowers and Elizabeth Pendergast, before taking down Michigan duo Ava Bruno and Elizabeth Sheinin 6-2.
Northwestern’s new heavy hitters did drop a match on Sunday to Michigan State’s Matilde Morais — MSU’s No. 1 singles option for much of last season — and Natalie Stasny 6-3, but it was a bonafide banner weekend for the unlikely duo.
Elsewhere on the doubles side of the bracket, Northwestern’s Jennifer Riester and and Kayta Shepherd Johnson went 1-2 on the weekend, dropping sets against Michigan State’s Stansy and Amara Brahmbhatt 6-3 and Xavier’s Mazzucato and Smitek before getting on the win column on Sunday against Sparty duo Brahmatt and Issey Purser 6-4.
In the world of singles, Jessel and Rabjons set the standard once again. Jessel finished her weekend 2-0, earning a win of MSU’s Morais in a three set battle 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 6-3 before making quick work of Purser 6-4, 7-5.
Rabjons also made some enemies in the state of Michigan. The senior was 3-0 on the weekend and dropped just one set on the weekend. She took down MSU’s Brahmbhatt 6-2, 6-4, Xavier’s Smitek 6-3, 6-3 and finally Michigan’s emily Sartz-Lunde 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Two other Wildcats picked up singles victories in East Lansing. Katya Shepherd Johnson bounced back from two losses on Friday and Saturday to do away with MSU’s Natalie Stasny 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday, and Jennifer Riester took just two sets to earn a win over Mazzucato 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
Northwestern will be back in action at both the TCU Invitational in Fort Worth and back in East Lansing for the Spartan Invite next weekend.