Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Wildcat Invitational
NU Finishes Strong First Day of Wildcat Invitational
1/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 15, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- On its first day back to competition following a layoff of over two months, Northwestern came out on top in 3-of-4 singles matches and both of its doubles tilts at the Wildcat Invitational Friday in Evanston. Freshman Kate Turvy won going away twice on Friday, first in her match against DePaul's Gia McKnight and again in joining with Linda Abu Mushrefova for a doubles win over Vanderbilt.
Turvy, now 8-5 in her singles career and ranked No. 85 nationally, easily bested McKnight, 6-2, 6-2. She and Abu Mushrefova were equally as efficient in topping the Commodores' Hannah Blatt and Catherine Newman. Turvy's soft drop shot at the net on match point sealed the 8-3 win for the 'Cats.
In other doubles action, senior Lauren Lui partnered with sophomore Stacey Lee for a speedy 8-2 defeat of DePaul's McKnight and Katarina Milinkovic.
Abu Mushrefova and Brittany Wowchuk, also a freshman, both joined Turvy in posting singles victories on Friday. Abu Mushrefova handled DePaul's Cali Gustafson, 6-1, 6-2, while Wowchuk outlasted Vanderbilt's Rachael Dillon in a hard-fought 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 match.
Sophomore Elena Chernyakova squared off with DePaul's Selma Salkovic and battled hard after falling in the first set 6-4. Salkovic won a pivotal game with the second set tied at three and eventually went ahead 5-3 before Chernyakova responded to pull within 5-4. Chernyakova won again to even things at five but Salkovic was too strong, edging Chernyakova over the next two games to close out the second set 7-5.
Two time zones away, 12th-ranked Maria Mosolova spent Friday competing at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., the second year in a row Mosolova has been in the field at the elite tournament. Mosolova opened the event against UCLA's Nina Pantic with a three-set victory, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Mosolova earned a berth in the second round where met Southern Cal's 39th-ranked Alison Ramos, who managed to defeat Mosolova 6-0, 6-1.
Northwestern, Vanderbilt and DePaul continue the Wildcat Invitational Saturday with play scheduled to start at 10 a.m. in NU's Combe Tennis Center. Action begins with three rounds of doubles competition before singles matches return to the courts at approximately 2:45 p.m. Admission for all home women's tennis events is free for all fans.
Below is a recap of Northwestern's individual results from the first day of the Wildcat Invite. For a complete list of matches involving only competitors from Vanderbilt and DePaul, please click here.
Singles
Kate Turvy (NU) def. Gia McKnight (DEP), 6-2, 6-2
Linda Abu Mushrefova (NU) def. Cali Gustafson (DEP), 6-1, 6-2
Brittany Wowchuk (NU) def. Rachel Dillon (VAN), 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
Selma Salkovic (DEP) def. Elena Chernyakova (NU), 6-4, 7-5
Doubles
Lee/Lui (NU) def. McKnight/Milinkovic (DEP), 8-2
Abu Mushrefova/Turvy (NU) def. Newman/Blatt (VAN), 8-3
