Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Purdue (Big Ten Tourney)
Wildcats Head to Semifinals After 4-1 Win Over Purdue
4/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 30, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill.--One down, two to go.
In its quest for its sixth-straight Big Ten Championship, Northwestern's 11th-ranked women's tennis team came one step closer when it defeated 50th-ranked Purdue 4-1 in the quarterfinal round of the tournament at Combe Tennis Center.
The top-seeded Wildcats (21-4), who won their eighth match in a row, will face the winner of No. 4 seed Michigan and No. 5 seed Wisconsin at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The ninth-seeded Boilermakers, meanwhile, conclude their season with a 10-14 overall record.
"I saw Purdue play well yesterday, so we were prepared for a tough match," said head coach Claire Pollard. "And I think playing such a tough team like the Boilermakers will set us up well for either Michigan or Wisconsin tomorrow."
Doubles went in favor of NU with its wins at Nos. 1 and 2. In the former, third-ranked Cristelle Grier (Epsom, England/Putney) and Jessica Rush (Dallas, Texas/The Hockaday School) cruised past Melissa Woods and Gretchen Haynor 8-1 for the tandem's 34th triumph of the year. After a 1-1 tie, Grier and Rush took the next seven games for the win.
At the two spot, Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Jamie Peisel (Savannah, Ga./Savannah Country Day) were neck-and-neck with Hala Sufi and Shawna Zuccarini until breaking serve at 7-6 for the 8-6 decision.
In singles, Purdue took the first point to tie the match, but almost immediately afterward, 47th-ranked Rush churned out a 6-1, 7-6 (2) victory over Alyssa Rodriguez at No. 2 to re-gain the lead for Northwestern.
Connie Chiang (Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West) earned the third point, taking down Woods 7-6 (0), 6-3 at No. 6. The clinching match then came down to a race between third-ranked Grier at No. 1 and Peisel at No. 4.
The latter won her first set against Haynor 6-4 and was up 6-4 in the second-set tiebreaker. Amazingly, though, Grier stormed back after her first-set loss to win 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 against Sufi to remain undefeated in conference singles matches. Consequently, Peisel was unable to finish her match.
"I started to relax after that first set," said Grier, who improved to 34-3 this year. "Also, seeing my teammates around me working so hard really inspired me."
With the forecast predicting rain all day, NU's match on Saturday will likely be held indoors at Combe Tennis Center.
