Northwestern
Big Ten Championships
Women's Tennis Wins Third Consecutive Big Ten Title
4/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 29, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern women's tennis team claimed its third straight conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 4-2 win over intrastate rival Illinois today in the Big Ten Championships at the Stickney Tennis Center.
The ninth-ranked Wildcats were the tournament's top seed after going 10-0 in the Big Ten during the regular season. They improve to 22-4 on the season.
Illinois won the doubles point to take the early lead, but the Wildcats stormed back by winning four singles matches for the title. In doubles, the Illini won at Nos. 2 and 3. Carla Rosenberg and Eva Choe defeated Lia Jackson and Jessica Rush, 8-4, at No. 2, while Jenny McGaffigan and Eldina Fazlic posted a 8-5 win over Simona Petrutiu and Shannon Duffy at No. 3. The match at No. 1 was abandoned.
NU quickly regrouped and claimed victories at Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5. Colleen Cheng defeated McGaffigan (6-4, 0-6, 6-3) to clinch the match for the Wildcats. Jackson defeated Fazlic at No. 2 in straight sets (6-2, 6-2). Marine Piriou and Petrutiu claimed straight-set victories at No. 4 and 5, respectively. Piriou topped Tiffany Eklov, 6-0, 6-2, and Petrutiu defeated Michelle Webb, 7-5, 6-3. Simone Kung won at No. 3 over Duffy (6-0, 6-2) for the Illini's lone singles win.
The NCAA will announce the draw for the 2001 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships on Thursday, May 3.
#1 NORTHWESTERN vs. #2 ILLINOIS
NU 4, Illinois 2
Singles
No. 1 - Colleen Cheng (NU) def. Jenny McGaffigan (Ill) 6-4, 0-6, 6-3*
No. 2 - Lia Jackson (NU) def. Eldina Fazlic (Ill) 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 - Simone Kung (Ill) def. Shannon Duffy (NU) 6-0, 6-2
No. 4 - Marine Piriou (NU) def. Tiffany Eklov (Ill) 6-0, 6-2
No. 5 - Simona Petrutiu (NU) def. Michelle Webb (Ill) 7-5, 6-3
No. 6 - Jessica Rush (NU) vs. Carla Rosenberg (Ill) 6-4(NU), 6-3(UI), 3-3 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 - Cheng/Piriou (NU) vs. Webb/Kung (UI), 7-5 (NU) abandoned
No. 2 - Rosenberg/Choe (UI) def. Jackson/Rush (NU), 8-4
No. 3 - McGaffigan/Fazlic (UI) def. Petrutiu/Duffy (NU), 8-5
* = win clinched match
