Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
NCAA Regionals
Women's Tennis Captures NCAA Regional, 4-1
5/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 13, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - The ninth-ranked Northwestern women's tennis team is on its way to the Sweet 16 for a second straight year after defeating Kentucky, 4-1, Sunday afternoon at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center.
NU will now move on to the Sweet 16 in Stone Mountain, Ga., May 17-26.
"Kentucky is a great team, and they brought out the best in us," said NU coach Claire Pollard following the match. "I knew they were every bit as good as us, and that we were in for a tough battle. But we love tight situations, and we were able to pull it out today."
Kentucky held an early 1-0 lead after taking two of three in doubles. The 20th-ranked duo of Brooke Skeen and Lauren Rookledge defeated NU's Colleen Cheng and Marine Piriou, 8-1, at No. 1. Ruth Barnes and Simona Petrutiu evened things up by defeating Amy Trefethen and Jill Buckley at No. 3. The decisive third doubles win went to Kentucky's No. 2 pair of Carolina Mayorga and Sarah Witten, as they defeated Lia Jackson and Jessica Rush, 8-4.
Cheng quickly put NU on the board with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles. Shannon Duffy then battled back from a 4-1 deficit in the first set -- staving off three set points at one juncture -- to win at No. 4 singles 7-5, 6-4 and give NU a 2-1 advantage. NU's third point came at No. 5, where Petrutiu won a three-set battle over Rookledge (6-1, 3-6, 6-2). Rush then clinched the win at No. 6. Rush overpowered her opponent Shannon Stafford in the first set, winning 6-0. Stafford came back swinging in the second set, evening the match at one apiece. In the third set, Rush jumped out to a 3-0 lead and went on to win the fourth and final point for NU, 6-2.
"I'm a little disappointed right now, but I'm still very pleased with how we played," said Kentucky coach Mark Guilbeau. "It wasn't about today for us. We haven't really been able to get over the hump all weekend, and Northwestern has. They earned the win."
NCAA Women's Tennis Championship
Regional Final
#1 Northwestern vs. #2 Kentucky
Vandy Christie Tennis Center * Evanston, Ill.
Northwestern 4, Kentucky 1
Singles
Matches listed in order of finish
No. 1 - #39 Colleen Cheng (Northwestern) def. #40 Carolina Mayorga (Kentucky) 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 - Shannon Duffy (Northwestern) def. Leigh Bradwell (Kentucky) 7-5, 6-4
No. 5 - Simona Petrutiu (Northwestern) def. Lauren Rookledge (Kentucky) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
No. 6 - Jessica Rush (Northwestern) def. Shannon Stafford (Kentucky) 6-0, 3-6, 6-2
No. 2 - #60 Lia Jackson (Northwestern) led #83 Sarah Witten (Kentucky) 6-4, 2-6, 4-2 (abandoned)
No. 3 - Marine Piriou (Northwestern) led #82 Brooke Skeen (Kentucky) 6-7(4), 6-1, 5-2 (abandoned)
Doubles
No. 1 - #20 Skeen/Rookledge (Kentucky) def. Cheng/Piriou (Northwestern), 8-1
No. 3 - Ruth Barnes/Petrutiu (Northwestern) def. Amy Trefethen/Jill Buckley (Kentucky) 8-3
No. 2 - #29 Mayorga/Witten (Kentucky) def. Jackson/Rush (Northwestern) 8-4
RECORDS: Northwestern 24-4, Kentucky 14-11
ATTENDANCE: 225
