THE EVE EDITION
FIRST BLUSH | THU OCT 22
Thursday has the biggest game of the field hockey season so far. #1 Maryland and #2 Northwestern, the last two unbeaten teams in Big Ten play, meet tonight in Evanston, and the top of the national poll rides on one evening at Lakeside Field. Maryland has not lost all fall. Northwestern has beaten the Terps four straight times.
The day starts early in Ningbo, where Elena Rybakina plays her first match since a foot injury forced her out of Wuhan, back as the world #1 and the defending champion, in a draw with nothing left to decide about Indian Wells. Before the field hockey, Nebraska puts its perfect record on the line against UCLA in prime time.
The LPGA’s second round in South Korea runs late into the night at Pine Beach Golf Links, where the leaders are separated by a single shot and the highest-ranked player in the field is right behind them.
#1 Maryland at #2 Northwestern
Maryland is 14-0 with eight shutouts and four wins over top-20 teams: Duke, Wake Forest, Princeton and Michigan. Northwestern is 14-1 and #2 in the poll, and both teams are 5-0 in the Big Ten. Ilse Tromp, the Big Ten’s co-Defensive Player of the Week, has 11 goals from the back line, Olivia Bent-Cole has eight assists, and goalkeeper Juliana Boon has seven shutouts. Maryland leads the series 19-18, but Northwestern has won the last four meetings, among them a 2-1 win in the 2022 NCAA semifinals and a 2-1 comeback last October after trailing at halftime.
EVE’s Edge: Northwestern to win, 2-1. Maryland has been the better team all fall, but at home, with Tromp on penalty corners, the Wildcats have the answer they have found four years running.
#1 Elena Rybakina vs. Polina Kudermetova
Rybakina won the Australian Open in January and the US Open in September, beating Aryna Sabalenka in both finals, and is already qualified for the WTA Finals in Indian Wells. The defending champion in Ningbo had a first-round bye and has not played since a foot injury forced her out of Wuhan. Kudermetova, who plays for Uzbekistan, came through qualifying and beat wildcard Cristina Bucsa 7-6, 6-2 in the first round. Her half of the draw also holds #4 Iva Jovic and #6 Diana Shnaider, both playing Thursday. The winner meets #5 Belinda Bencic or qualifier Katarzyna Kawa in the quarterfinals.
EVE’s Edge: Rybakina to win, 6-3, 6-4. Rust is the only real question after her time away, and a qualifier is unlikely to make her pay for long.
United States vs. Kenya
The United States opened the U-17 Women’s World Cup with the biggest win in the tournament’s history, 17-0 over Samoa, and Maddie DiMaria became the first player to score six goals in a match at the event. DiMaria scored after 63 seconds and had a hat trick by the 20th minute, and 10 Americans scored. Kenya lost its opener 3-0 to China PR, which also has three points in Group E. The United States finished third in 2024 and went out of last year’s round of 16 in a shootout, and a second win would leave it close to the knockout rounds before the group closes against China on October 25.
EVE’s Edge: United States to win, 5-0. Kenya will sit deeper than Samoa did, but the Americans have too much pace and too many scorers to be held for long.
UCLA at #1 Nebraska
Nebraska is 19-0 and leads the Big Ten at 8-0. Purdue took a set last week to end the Huskers’ 26-set winning streak, and Nebraska still won in four. Teraya Sigler, the Big Ten Player of the Week, hit .391 in wins over Northwestern and Purdue, and libero Olivia Mauch, the Defensive Player of the Week, had a career-high 21 digs against Purdue. The Huskers held the two opponents to a combined .091 hitting. UCLA is 15-4 and 6-2 in the conference in Matt Werle’s first season, just outside the rankings. Middle blocker Marianna Singletary is among the nation’s leaders in blocks.
EVE’s Edge: Nebraska to win, 3-0. UCLA can block with anyone, but nobody has solved Lincoln this season, and the Huskers’ passing should keep Singletary guessing.
LPGA Round 2 in Haenam
Karis Davidson and Yuri Yoshida share the lead at 6 under after the first round, and world #3 Haeran Ryu is one back after a bogey-free 67 with five birdies. Hyo Joo Kim and Amy Yang are in a nine-way tie for eighth at 3 under. Sei Young Kim defends the title she won last year at a tournament-record 24 under, close to her hometown of Yeongam, on a par 72 that runs along the sea. Minjee Lee, the 2023 champion, and Lottie Woad are also among the 84 players, and with no cut this week, everyone plays all four rounds on a course where the wind can turn a round quickly.
EVE’s Edge: Haeran Ryu to win in Haenam. She is the highest-ranked player in the field, she opened without a bogey, and one shot is nothing with 54 holes to play.
UNBUCKLING THE BELT
U-17 Women’s World Cup. The second round of group games finishes in Groups E and F. China PR, level with the United States on three points, plays Samoa, Spain takes its Group F lead into a meeting with Australia, and Mexico faces Chile.