Northwestern University Athletics
Top-Ranked Northwestern Hosts Season-Opening Wildcat Invite
1/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 14, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's No. 1-ranked women's tennis team will be on display on its home courts this weekend as it kicks off its 2009 spring season in the Wildcat Invitational. Led by a trio of seniors in Nazlie Ghazal, Keri Robison and Georgia Rose, Northwestern is set to square off against competitors from Alabama, DePaul and Florida State in the Combe Tennis Center.
Meanwhile, two Wildcats are headed to sunny Palm Springs, Calif., to take part in the National Collegiate Tennis Classic, including the nation's No. 1-ranked singles player, sophomore Maria Mosolova. She and junior Lauren Lui, ranked 13th in Midwest singles action, are competing in singles as well as doubles play.
NU took advantage of its fall preseason schedule to showcase its ability and eventually earn a top national ranking to start the spring season. Mosolova paced Northwestern to the tune of a 13-2 record and appearances in the semifinals of both the ITA All-American Championships in California and the National Indoor Singles Championships in Virginia.
Overall, Northwestern posted a 71-33 combined singles record during fall competition, a .683 winning percentage. The nation's 25th-ranked tandem of Rose and Lui enjoyed the most success as doubles partners, winning seven of their 11 matches.
NU became familiar with local foe and 62nd-ranked DePaul over the course of the fall, meeting in the fall Wildcat Invitational as well as the ITA Midwest Regional Championships in East Lansing, Mich. Gia McKnight led the Blue Demons with an 11-2 singles mark while Dunja Antunovic (No. 109) notched an 8-5 record.
Florida State earned the No. 20 spot in the ITA team poll on Jan. 6 thanks in part to sophomore Katie Rybakova (No. 35), who went 11-5 in singles play last fall, and fellow sophomore Federica Suess (No. 53), who finished 10-1.
Alabama comes to Evanston boasting one ranked player in No. 72 Tiffany Welcher, who compiled an 8-2 singles record and 9-4 doubles mark in the fall. Senior Shelley Godwin also had a successful fall, winning a team-best 11 of her 14 matches.
Play will run continuously at the Wildcat Invitational beginning 10 a.m. Friday until its conclusion at about 6 p.m. On Saturday, action runs from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. save for a break from 2-4 p.m. The tournament concludes on Sunday with two rounds of doubles beginning at 10 a.m. Northwestern's schedule of play is as follows:
Northwestern Schedule
Friday: Doubles beginning at 2 p.m.; Singles beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday: Doubles beginning at 9 a.m.; Singles beginning at 10:30 a.m Break: 2-4 p.m.; Singles resume at 4 p.m.
Sunday: Doubles beginning at 10 a.m.
