Brittany Wowchuk Advances to ITA Midwest Regional Championship Final

10/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

Oct. 24, 2011

ITA Midwest Regional Championship Tournament Central

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For the second straight year Northwestern's women's tennis team sent two players to the semifinals of the main singles draw at the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championship, but unlike 2010, this year the 'Cats will be represented in the final match Tuesday.

Junior Brittany Wowchuk (Toronto, Ontario/Oakville Trafalgar) has advanced to Tuesday's final match where she will face Michigan's Emina Bektas. To get there, the Wowchuk won twice on Monday included a victory over the draw's top-seeded player. In the quarterfinals Wowchuk upset Kristy Frilling from Notre Dame, 6-4, 6-4, to claim a coveted spot in the semifinals.

On the other side of the bracket, Northwestern's Kate Turvy (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) ran through Michigan's Sam Crister in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, to assure that the Wildcats comprised one-half the remaining field. Another teammate, Belinda Niu (Portland, Ore./Lincoln), was also in the quarterfinals Monday, but she was knocked out of the draw by DePaul's Patricia Fargas, 6-3, 6-4, in the round of eight.

Wowchuk was able to avenge her teammate's loss, however, in her afternoon match. The Toronto native dismantled Fargas, 6-1, 6-1, to secure the first spot in Tuesday's final match.

Meanwhile, on a nearby court, Turvy was battling hard with Bektas. Turvy, also a junior for NU, claimed the first set, 6-3 before Bektas rebounded to win the next set, 6-2 and even the match at one set apiece. In the third set, Turvy fell behind, but refused to give in to the Wolverine as she rallied to tied the score at six games apiece, setting up a decisive third-set tiebreaker. Bektas seized the momentum and won the tiebreaker, 7-0, to set up a date with Wowchuk Tuesday.

Before the singles action began Monday, Northwestern's Linda Abu Mushrefova (Bradenton, Fla./Pendleton) and Nida Hamilton (Oak Brook, Ill.) played in the championship match of the main doubles draw against Notre Dame's Frilling and Shannon Mathews. The Fighting Irish were able to win that match and claim the title with an 8-2 victory.

Live stats for the match between Wowchuk and Bektas will be available by clicking the link near the top of the page. The match is slated to begin at 9 a.m. CT at the Varsity Tennis Center on the campus of Ohio State University.

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