Northwestern University Athletics
No. 3 Northwestern Hosts No. 26 Notre Dame Thursday
4/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 12, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - Eight-consecutive doubles sweeps have powered No. 3 Northwestern (17-2, 7-0 Big Ten) along a six-match winning streak, but that streak will be put to the test at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 14, when the Wildcats face another club that has dominated doubles play: No. 26 Notre Dame (11-8).
While the `Cats have swept the point a total of 10 times this year, the Fighting Irish have eight sweeps to their own name. Notre Dame has dropped the point just three times all season and the `Cats have only lost it twice (against then-No. 13 Georgia and then-No. 10 Tulane).
A blockbuster matchup is in place at the No. 1 slot, where freshman Audra Cohen (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) and Cristelle Grier (Epsom, Englan/Putney) -- the nation's top-ranked tandem -- will face twin-sister duo Christian and Catrina Thompson. The sophomore twins are 23-4 this year and currently ranked fourth in the country.
Cohen and Grier are 28-2 on the year and in the midst of a 13-match winning streak, while the Thompson twins have put together winning streaks of six and seven this year.
The No. 2 and 3 doubles matchups will be nothing short of fierce, as well.
The Irish's No. 2 and 3 doubles teams have each cracked the 20-win mark this year, something NU can not claim. Brook Buck and Lauren Connelly are 24-9 overall and 13-6 at No. 2, while Sarah Jane Connelly and Kristina Stastny are 22-8 overall and 12-5 at No. 3.
Sophomore Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and senior Kristi Roemer (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) are winners of their last eight at No. 2, 14-3 overall and ranked 36th in the nation.
Northwestern's latest No. 3 duo -- junior Feriel Esseghir (Sarasota, Fla./Brickhouse Academy) and Valerie Vladea (Tiffin, Iowa/Burlington Central -- played together for the first time all year this past weekend, putting up an 8-5 win over Iowa and an impressive 8-0 shutout against Minnesota.
In singles action, a few players will match-up for the second time this year. No. 16 Grier will most likely face No. 90 Brook Buck at No. 2. She downed Buck 6-4, 6-1 back in the fall at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional Championships. Buck also faced Vladea in the Regional Championships, downing the Tiffin, Iowa native, 6-2, 6-1.
Cohen will be shooting for her 40th win of the season, which would tie Grier's single-season school record.
Overall, Northwestern has won its last five matches against Notre Dame and holds an all-time 18-8 record. Last year, the `Cats beat the Irish in the regular season at South Bend, 4-3, and also in the NCAA Regional Championships, 4-1.
Notre Dame is on a three-match winning streak, and upset then-No. 16 William & Mary this past weekend.
After a Wednesday match at Illinois, Evanston will be the last stop on Notre Dame's regular season schedule. The Irish will begin competition at the Big East Championships Thursday, April 21.
Kentucky recently leapfrogged Northwestern in the latest ITA national poll released Tuesday, April 12, claiming the No. 2 spot after a big win over then-No. 4 Georgia.
Following Thursday's match, Northwestern resumes Big Ten competition at home Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17 against Purdue and Illinois. Both matches start at 11 a.m. at Vandy Christie Center, weather permitting. After their match on Sunday, the Wildcats will put on a free clinic to anyone wishing to participate.
Nationally Ranked `Cats as of April 12, 2005
Singles
No. 3 Audra Cohen
No. 16 Cristelle Grier
No. 66 Alexis Prousis
Doubles
No. 1 Cohen and Grier
No. 36 Kristi Roemer and Prousis
Team Ranking
No. 1 - Stanford
No. 2 - Kentucky
No. 3 - Northwestern
Perfect Matches... Doubles
Northwestern has swept the doubles point 10 times this season: vs. DePaul (1/19), at Texas A&M (1/29), at Kentucky (1/30) and at Wisconsin (2/13), vs. Michigan (3/26), vs. Michigan State (3/27), at Indiana (4/1), at Penn State (4/3), vs. Iowa (4/9) and vs. Minnesota (4/10).
Perfect Matches... Singles
Northwestern has swept all six singles matches four times this season: vs. DePaul (1/19), against New Mexico (2/4) at the ITA National Indoor Team Championship, vs. Iowa (4/9) and vs. Minnesota (4/10).
Chasing Recent History
Cohen recorded her 39th victory of the season Sunday, April 10 vs. Minnesota, putting her only one shy of tying Grier's single-season school record of 40 set in 2004. Cohen has only dropped eight sets in 43 total matches.
By the Numbers
16 - consecutive Big Ten matches Northwestern has won, a streak dating back to last year. The Wildcats last conference loss came April 4, 2004 at Illinois, 4-3.
4 - `Cats with at least 20 singles wins already this year. Cohen (39-4), Grier (30-6), Prousis (27-7) and Vladea (26-8).
6 - Big Ten Titles Claire Pollard has won in six years as head coach.
23 - Streak of wins by Audra Cohen in the fall to begin her college career, during which she claimed three singles titles.
13 - Consecutive wins by Audra Cohen and Cristelle Grier (28-8 overall, 16-2 duals) -- the nation's top-ranked doubles duo.
