Northwestern University Athletics
Lui Earns Second Big Ten Athlete Of The Week Award
4/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 2, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Sophomore Lauren Lui (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) has earned this week's Big Ten Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week Award after clinching four singles and four doubles victories in dual competition last week. Northwestern, who maintains its top-rank in this week's ITA rankings, has garnered its sixth weekly Big Ten honor this season.
At No. 4 singles, Lui went a perfect 4-0 last week, including crucial wins at second-ranked Baylor and 17th-ranked Texas. She clinched each of her matches in straight sets and took home an impressive 6-4, 7-5 victory over Baylor's 62nd-ranked Jana Bielikova.
With her performance, 42nd-ranked Lui has won eleven-consecutive matches and improves to 14-0 from No. 4 this season. She remains a perfect 5-0 in Big Ten action and currently ranks among the top of the Wildcats with a 15-1 dual singles record.
Lui and doubles partner Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) won all four of their matches last week and jumped to 14th-ranked as a pair in this week's ITA rankings. The duo breezed through its competition throughout the week, including the most impressive win, an 8-4 victory over the 4th-ranked tandem from Baylor. The girls also took an 8-2 decision over the 29th-ranked pair from Texas.
With last week's doubles victories, Lui and Rose extended their winning streak to nine and currently sit at 9-0 from No. 1 in dual play this season. In the release of the latest polls, Lui now ranks in the top 15 with two different doubles partners. She currently stands at 13th with Samantha Murray (Altrincham, England/Altrincham Grammar) and 14th with Rose.
As a team, Northwestern is 17-1 on the season (5-0 Big Ten) and remain as the top-ranked team according to this week's ITA rankings. The 'Cats have won eleven-consecutive dual matches. The Wildcats have received the Big Ten weekly honor on six occasions this year, with Lui becoming the fifth 'Cat to collect the award. Suzie Matzenauer, Maria Mosolova (2), Samantha Murray and Georgia Rose have previously been recognized this season.
Northwestern returns to action to host a pair of matches this weekend when they welcome 29th-ranked Ohio State at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 5. The Wildcats will be featured on the Big Ten Network in their second match of the weekend against Indiana at 11 a.m. Sunday, April 6.
