Seven hundred and fifty days ago head coach Ronni Bernstein was still coaching in Florida. The University’s apparel was still supplied by Nike. More than half of the current roster was still in high school. That was also the last time the Wolverines had dropped a match in Ann Arbor.

Yesterday marked the end of a more than two-year-old home winning streak for the women’s tennis team as it lost 6-1 to No. 1 Northwestern at the Varsity Tennis Center.

“We have had a fantastic crowd today, so obviously we wanted to keep the streak going," Bernstein said. “You want to protect your home court, but we ran into a pretty good team.”

The Wolverines were victim to a strong opening performance for Northwestern in doubles play with a convincing win for the No. 52 Wildcat doubles team.

“We need to believe more, and in the big points we need to be willing to step up and kind of go at them more instead of waiting for them to maybe make a mistake,” Bernstein said. “The best teams do that.”

Although the Wildcats had already claimed the doubles point, Michigan garnered an intense victory at No. 1 doubles behind the play of sophomore Tania Mahtani and senior Chisako Sugiyama. The 31st-ranked Wolverine tandem upset the 12th-ranked Northwestern doubles team 8-7 (4).

In tight singles competition, against a Wildcat singles roster loaded with four nationally-ranked competitors, the Wolverines clawed and competed hard but ultimately fell short in all but one matche.

“We lost a bunch of close first sets,” Bernstein said. “And they are the No. 1 team in the country for a reason.”

Sophomore Rika Tatsuno found herself playing against what seemed like a wall at No. 1 singles. Tatsuno continually struck a heavy ball, only to have it returned at a faster pace by No. 2 Maria Mosolova.

“You have got to really earn the point from her,” Bernstein said. “Mosolova doesn’t give you anything.”

Both players whacked the fuzz off the balls with their lighting forehands. Ultimately, Mosolova squeezed out a close straight-set victory over Tatsuno, 6-3, 6-2.

Michigan was also on the courts Saturday and breezed past Wisconsin 6-1. The Wolverines won eight of nine overall matches behind impressive performances by sophomores Tatsuno and Kari Wig.

Tatsuno, fresh off her second Big Ten Player of the Week award, won at No. 1 singles.

Even with the overall match decided, Wig won her 2009 season debut in impressive comeback fashion, padding the overall score against Wisconsin to a sixth and final team point with a 3-6, 6-4, 1-0(2) win at No. 6 singles.

“I have been playing practice matches, but it’s not the same,” Wig said. “I like contributing to the team more. It’s a good feeling knowing you were a part of (the score).”

The Wolverines are ready to rebuild a fresh home winning streak and stay atop the Big Ten standings. It is only fitting that the next time Michigan takes the courts at the Varsity Tennis Center on April 9th, it will be against Texas A&M — the team that ended Michigan's last streak two years ago.