Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcat Invitational Kicks Off Friday
1/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 8, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's women's tennis team begins its spring season hosting the Wildcat Invitational, beginning on Friday at the Combe Tennis Center.
The Invitational will be played in a round-robin format against competition from DePaul, Western Michigan and Utah, with each individual victory earning a point. Following the tournament, individual winners will be crowned based on points earned throughout the Invitational.
During the fall season, the team shined in the preseason tournaments across the country. Freshman Maria Mosolova (Moscow, Russia) turned in stellar performances throughout the season, earning a record of 13-2 in singles and 12-1 in doubles. Her play earned her a No. 2 ranking in the country and No. 1 ranking in the Midwest Region.
Junior and defending Big Ten Player of the Year Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) played to a 15-4 singles record, while racking up five wins to only one loss in doubles in the fall. In the first release of the rankings, she sits at No. 9 in the country.
At the ITA Regional Championships, Rose and 20th-ranked sophomore Samantha Murray (Altricham, England/Altrincham Grammar) ran through the brackets to play an all-NU final at the Combe Tennis Center, with Rose taking the title.
Rose again faced a teammate at the consolation finals of the Indoor Championships, this time taking on Mosolova. The freshman walked away with the 7-6(4), 6-3 victory and the consolation win.
DePaul also competed at the Fall Wildcat Invitational, with a pair of Blue Demons taking a doubles championship. Western Michigan's fall played concluded with two players getting individual rankings as junior Kerstin Pahl and senior Noriko Saruta are No. 9 in doubles and Pahl is No. 11 in singles. University of Utah, meanwhile, had two players advance to the quarterfinals of the ITA Central Region Tournament.
Invitational play on Friday begins at 12:30 p.m. and will continue until the last matches of the day conclude following their 6:30 start time. On Saturday, play begins at 8 a.m. and breaks at noon. The Invitational picks back up at 2:30 until 8 p.m. Sunday's matches will be played from 8 a.m. until noon.
Northwestern schedule:
Friday- Doubles beginning at 3:30 p.m., singles beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday- Doubles beginning at 9 a.m., singles beginning at 4 p.m.
Sunday- Singles beginning at 8 a.m. until noon
