Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Iowa
Northwestern Makes It 15 Straight
4/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 12, 2008
Results
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Top-ranked Northwestern continued its Big Ten domination Saturday with a 6-1 win over Iowa. With the victory, the Wildcats' winning streak hits 15 and the 'Cats improve to 8-0 atop the Big Ten.
The Wildcats (21-1, 8-0) took a 1-0 match advantage after a sweep of the doubles point. After failing to clinch the doubles point earlier this week, there was a change in Saturday's doubles lineups, but the 'Cats still came out firing to earn the sweep. At No. 1, Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) and Lauren Lui (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) dominated en route to an 8-1 victory.
While the matches at the two remaining courts played a bit tighter, Iowa's efforts were not enough to keep Northwestern from prevailing. At No. 2, Samantha Murray (Altrincham, England/Altrincham Grammar) and Suzie Matzenauer (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine) came out on top 8-5. In similar fashion at No. 3, an 8-5 victory by Alexis Conill (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) and Maria Mosolova (Moscow, Russia/No. 204) secured the sweep for the Wildcats.
Northwestern jumped out to a 2-0 match lead after Nazlie Ghazal (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) won in straight sets at No. 5, 6-2, 6-3. The victory earns Ghazal her 10th-consecutive dual victory, as she improves to 17-2 from No. 5 this season.
Suzie Matzenauer gave the 'Cats a 3-0 advantage after cruising to victory in straight sets at No. 6, 6-2, 6-3. Matzenauer improves to 19-2 in dual singles this season, with a chance to become the first Wildcat to 20 wins.
Northwestern clinched the match by taking a 4-0 lead when Lauren Lui continued her impressive performance from the No. 4 position with a 6-4, 6-0, victory over her opponent. With her 15th straight dual singles win, Lui improves to 18-0 from No. 4 this season. She has not lost from that position in 25-consecutive matches, dating to last season.
Samantha Murray bounced back on the right track Saturday, picking up a win at No. 3 in a hard fought battle from both sides. Murray dropped the first set 7-5, but came right back with a 6-1 victory in the second set. Murray found herself in yet another `superbreaker' for the match, but was relentless in taking out her opponent, 10-5, securing a 5-0 match lead for Northwestern.
The 'Cats made it 6-0 when Mosolova won her match a No. 1. Her victory would also be decided in a third set after splitting the first two with her opponent, 2-6, 6-2. However, Mosolova was not phased going into the third and took the `superbreaker' with ease 1-0 (10-3).
The only flaw on the day came at No. 2, where Georgia Rose was unable to overcome the superb performance of Iowa's Milica Veselinovic. After winning the first set, 6-3, Rose fell in the second, 6-1, forcing yet another third set to decide the match. A grueling effort from both sides forced the third into a tiebreaker, where Rose fell just short, 7-6. Despite the defeat, the Wildcats post another impressive conference victory, 6-1.
With two dual matches remaining, the Wildcats are aiming for perfection as they close in on the chance to go 10-0 in Big Ten play for the fourth-consecutive year. Northwestern has not lost a Big Ten match in its last 58 attempts.
The Wildcats return to action at 11 a.m. Sunday, as they travel north to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota. Northwestern returns to Evanston for its final dual match of the regular season next weekend, as they host Michigan State at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 19. That match is scheduled to be featured on the Big Ten Network.
Singles competition
1. Maria Mosolova (NU) def. Jacqueline Lee (IOWAW) 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-3)
2. Milica Veselinovic (IOWAW) def. Georgia Rose (NU) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
3. Samantha Murray (NU) def. Alexis Dorr (IOWAW) 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-5)
4. Lauren Lui (NU) def. Lynne Poggensee-Wei (IOWAW) 6-4, 6-0
5. Nazlie Ghazal (NU) def. Kelcie Klockenga (IOWAW) 6-2, 6-3
6. Suzie Matzenauer (NU) def. Kayla Berry (IOWAW) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Georgia Rose/Lauren Lui (NU) def. Jacqueline Lee/Alexis Dorr (IOWAW) 8-1
2. Samantha Murray/Suzie Matzenauer (NU) def. Milica Veselinovic/Kelcie Klockenga (IOWAW) 8-5
3. Alexis Conill/Maria Mosolova (NU) def. Lynne Poggensee-Wei/Kayla Berry (IOWAW) 8-5
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,6,4,3,1,2)
