Northwestern Advances Through ASU Thunderbird Invitational

11/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

Nov. 5, 2010

USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships
Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 4-7
New York City • USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Tournament Website (Draws/Schedules)

ASU Thunderbird Invitational
Friday-Sunday, Nov. 5-7
Tempe, Ariz. • Whiteman Tennis Center
Tournament Website (Draws/Schedules)

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Northwestern completed the first day of play at the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational on Friday, winning three first-round singles matches in the 32-player bracket.

Making noise at the top of the bracket was freshman Belinda Niu, who followed up a 6-4, 6-4 win over conference foe Michelle Sulahian of Michigan by knocking out the draw's No. 1 seed, Micaela Hein of Arizona State (6-4, 6-3). The win sends Niu into the quarterfinals, where she will meet another Michigan representative, Whitney Taney, at 11:30 a.m. CT Saturday.

Sophomores Brittany Wowchuk and Kate Turvy also posted wins on the first day of their final fall tournament. Wowchuk overcame Ashlee Brown of Arizona State in three sets (4-6, 6-2, 6-2) while Turvy defeated another Sun Devil, Sianna Simmons, 6-2, 6-2.

Also on Friday, NU senior Maria Mosolova was outlasted in her second-round singles match at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in New York City. Mosolova took the first set off sixth-seeded Allie Will of Florida, but Will recovered over the next two to win 6-4, 6-1, and advance to the tournament's quarterfinals.

In doubles consolation play, NU's tandem of sophomore Linda Abu Mushrefova and freshman Nida Hamilton found themselves having to face the tournament's original No. 1 seed, Hilary Barte and Mallory Burdette of Stanford, who were upset in their opening-round match on Thursday. Abu Mushrefova and Hamilton continued their strong play this fall but ultimately fell to the Cardinal pairing, 8-5.

Complete results from both tournaments are available by accessing the respective tournament websites linked at the top of the page.

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!