Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Clemson (NCAA Round of 16)
Clemson Slips Past Northwestern, 4-3
5/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 19, 2005
ATLANTA, Ga. - Despite winning the doubles point for the 25th time this year, fifth-seeded Northwestern suffered an upset loss to 12th-seeded Clemson, 4-3, Thursday in the NCAA Championship's round of 16.
The Wildcats close the season 26-3 overall -- posting the most wins in head coach Claire Pollard's seven-year tenure. By winning 89.7% of their matches this year, the 2005 `Cats place themselves atop the school's record books, besting the 1986 team's winning percentage of .866 (26-4).
• Complete results are available at UGA's tournament website and the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship page
Sophomore Alexis Prousis and senior Kristi Roemer started the 'Cats off on the right foot with an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles -- the duo's 20th victory of the year together. Junior Feriel Esseghir and Valerie Vladea then clinched the team point with their 8-4 win at the No. 3 slot, putting NU on top 1-0. The No. 3 tandem was a perfect 12-0 on the season.
From the start of the singles competition though, it was clear Clemson wasn't going away without a fight. The Tigers' No. 2, 4, 5 and 6 players each claimed the first sets of their matches handily.
While Wildcats in those matches had to fight from behind, Prousis proved to be a constant for Northwestern at No. 3, as she notched her 20th-straight victory of the year. The sophomore won her first set easily, 6-1, and later outlasted her opponent, 6-4, in the second to put NU ahead 2-0.
Nevertheless, the Tigers tied the score at 2-2 with straight-set wins of their own in the bottom of the lineup at 5 and 6.
Junior Cristelle Grier next edged the `Cats ahead, 3-2, by slugging out her 38th win of the year after she dropped her opening set. The All-American candidate missed some shots by a hair in the first set, but she honed in on the once elusive chalk lines in sets two and three to put her team ahead.
Once Grier finished, freshman Audra Cohen and Vladea were all that remained for Northwestern at No. 1 and 4, respectively.
Similar to Grier, Vladea dropped her opening frame. It was the first time Vladea had dropped a set in over two months. Still, she shot out to a 3-1 lead in the second and later led 4-3 before she won two games in a row to take the second set.
Later, in the third set, Vladea was behind, but broke her opponent to bring the set to 5-4 in favor of Clemson. Then with the serve, Vladea fought off two match points before Brito eventually took the set, 6-4.
With the score tied, 3-3, all eyes turned to the marquee match at No. 1 singles. Cohen -- ranked fourth in the nation -- split the first two sets with Julie Coin -- ranked second in the nation. Then in the third set, Coin put Cohen into a quick 4-0 hole.
As the sun beat down, the freshman made a quick trip to the locker room to swap out her sweat-soaked shirt. With fresh apparel, Cohen looked like a new player as she won three-straight games to pull within one at 4-3. Coin wasn't going anywhere though, and held serve to get to 5-3. In the ninth game, Cohen took the serve and quickly won the first two points. Coin won the next three though, putting herself in position to win the match. But Cohen won three-straight points to take the game and pull within one again at 5-4.
In the 10th game, a Herculean effort to run down balls that probably should not have been run down saw the Wildcat freshman fend off not one but two match points. But an unforced error at the third match point gave the match to Coin and the Tigers.
While Northwestern is done as a team, Cohen and Grier will resume play in the individual singles and doubles competition, which begins Monday, May 23.
Check out a more in depth look at the NCAA Championships here.
#12 Clemson 4, #5 Northwestern 3
Doubles
No. 1 - #12 Coin/Lacelarie (CLEM) def. #2 Cohen/Grier (NU), 8-1
No. 2 - Prousis/Roemer (NU) def. Alvarez/Brito (CLEM), 8-1
No. 3 - Vladea/Esseghir (NU) def. Farah/Salge (CLEM), 8-4
Singles
No. 1 - #2 Julie Coin (CLEM) def. #4 Audra Cohen (NU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 - #21 Cristelle Grier (NU) def. #59 Romy Farah (CLEM), 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 - #76 Alexis Prousis (NU) def. Alix Lacelarie (CLEM), 6-1, 6-4
No. 4 - Maria Brito (CLEM) def. Valerie Vladea (NU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
No. 5 - Daniela Alvarez (CLEM) def. Andrea Yung (NU), 6-1, 6-3
No. 6 - Carol Salge (CLEM) def. Jamie Peisel (NU), 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish for doubles: 2, 1, 3
Order of finish for singles: 3, 5, 6, 2, 4, *1
* denotes clincher
