Northwestern
Illinois
No. 26 Wildcats Sweep No. 17 Illinois, 7-0
3/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 29, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - When Northwestern and Illinois meet on the tennis courts, the matches are always intense and today's was no different. The Wildcats (11-6, 3-0 Big Ten) used an early doubles victory as momentum for the remainder of the match, defeating Illinois (9-4, 2-1 Big Ten) 7-0 Saturday afternoon at the Combe Tennis Center.
NU's Ruth Barnes and Andrea Yung won at No. 2 doubles, defeating Eldina Fazlic and Eva Choe 8-6. The Illini were the 9-7 winners at No. 3 over Kristi Roemer and Jamie Peisel. With the doubles knotted, it came down to an intense dual at No. 1. The 13th ranked duo of Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush were pitted against No. 15 Jennifer McGaffigan and Michelle Webb in a back-and- forth affair. The match came down to a tiebreaker, and NU proved to be too much for the Fighting Illini, winning 9-8 (7-3).
"The doubles point was key today," said head coach Claire Pollard. "It changed the momentum of the match. It was a tough match all around, and a great performance by both teams, but our depth came through for us today."
With the early advantage, Northwestern cruised to the victory with a sweep of singles. The 'Cats won four of the six matches in straight sets, while the remaining matches were claimed in three.
Peisel gave Northwestern the 2-0 lead with her 6-1, 6-3 win over Fazlic at No. 3. Grier handed McGaffigan a 6-4, 6-1 loss at No. 1 singles to give the 'Cats a 3-0 advantage. Roemer, playing at No. 6, clinched the win for NU with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Webb. Rush gave up the second set to Eklov, before rallying in the third to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 at No. 2. Up 5-0 over the Illini, Barnes downed Brianna Knue 6-4, 6-3, making the score 6-0. Yung closed out the match with a three-set win over Choe, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 at No. 4.
The Cats are now 3-0 in Big Ten play and 11-6 on the season. Northwestern will host No. 55 Purdue Sunday at the Combe Tennis Center. Match time is set for 11 a.m.
No. 26 Northwestern vs. No. 17 Illinois
NU 7, IL 0
SINGLES
No. 1 #7 Cristelle Grier (NU) def. #66 Jennifer McGaffigan (IL) 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 #80 Jessica Rush (NU) def. #106 Tiffany Eklov (IL) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
No. 3 Jamie Peisel (NU) def. Eldina Fazlic (IL) 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 #98 Andrea Yung (NU) def. Eva Choe (IL) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
No. 5 Ruth Barnes (NU) def. Brianna Knue (IL) 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 Kristi Roemer (NU) def. Michelle Webb (IL) 6-4, 6-2
DOUBLES
No. 1 #13 Grier/Rush (NU) def. #15 McGaffigan/Webb (IL) 9-8 (7-3)
No. 2 Barnes/Yung (NU) def. Fazlic/Choe (IL) 8-6
No. 3 Eklov/Knue (IL) def. Roemer/Peisel (NU) 9-7
Players Mentioned
