Northwestern
Harvard
'Cats Win Eighth Straight
3/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 4, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -
After winning two of three doubles matches Friday afternoon against Harvard, Northwestern secured its 11th victory of the year with singles wins from Cristelle Grier, Valerie Vladea and Alexis Prousis. The close, 4-3 win in the Crimson's backyard moves NU to 11-1 overall, as the Wildcats head into a two-week break from competition.
Winners of their last eight dual matches, the fourth-ranked Wildcats handed 19th-ranked Harvard (6-3) its second-straight loss.
Audra Cohen and Grier got things started with a 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles, improving their overall mark to 22-2, 10-2 in duals. Vladea and Jamie Peisel then fell at the No. 3 slot though, leaving the deciding point up to Kristi Roemer and Prousis at No. 2.
With the doubles point hanging in the balance, Roemer and Prousis -- the nation's 18th-ranked duo -- staked the `Cats to a 1-0 advantage with a 8-6 win over O'Riain and Schnitter. The win improves the tandem's record to 8-3 overall, 8-3 in duals.
In singles action, Grier and Vladea stretched NU's lead to 3-0 by each earning their 10th dual victory of the year (both have 10-2 dual marks) on the strength of straight-set wins. Vladea has a team-leading five-match winning streak.
Prousis clinched the match at the No. 3 position with her 20th win of the season (20-7 overall, 9-3 duals). She battled back to win the final two sets after dropping the opening set, 6-1. Prousis is the fourth Wildcat to reach the 20-wins plateau this year, behind Cohen (33-3), Grier (23-6) and Vladea (21-7).
Harvard's Courtney Bergman became only the third person to defeat Cohen -- the top-ranked singles player in the nation. After dropping the first set 6-4, Cohen won the second frame 7-5. Bergman closed the match with a 6-1 win in the final set though.
Northwestern is next in action Tuesday, March 22 against 17th-ranked California.
No. 4 Northwestern 4, No. 19 Harvard 3
Doubles
No. 1 - Grier/Cohen (N) def. Bergman/Lingman (H), 8-3
No. 2 - No. 18 Roemer/Prousis (N) def. O'Riain/Schnitter (H), 8-6
No. 3 - Durkin/Anderson (H) def. Peisel/Vladea (N), 8-4
Singles
1. No. 40 Courtney Bergman (H) def. No. 1 Audra Cohen (N), 6-4, 5-7, 6-1
2. No. 13 Cristelle Grier (N) def. No. 61 Susanna Lingman (H), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
3. No. 59 Alexis Prousis (N) def. No. 58 Elsa O'Riain (H), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
4. Valerie Vladea (N) def. Celia Durkin (H), 7-6 (5), 6-1
5. Alexis Martire (H) def. Jamie Peisel (N), 7-6, 6-3
6. Eva Wang (H) def. Feriel Esseghir (N), 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish for doubles: 1, 3, 2
Order of finish for singles: 4, 2, 6, 3, 5, 1
