Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
No. 2 Florida
'Cats Chomp Second-Ranked Gators
2/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 8, 2014
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#16 Northwestern 4, #2 Florida 2 Boar's Head Sports Club • Charlottesville, Va. Results |
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Wildcats took on second-ranked Florida in the quarterfinal round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Saturday. No. 16 Northwestern upset the Gators 4-2 by capturing the doubles point and winning three of five completed singles matches.
A day after beating No. 7 Texas A&M in a 4-3 nail-biter, NU used solid performances to knock off a second top-10 team in as many days.
The `Cats claimed the doubles point by notching wins at No. 2 and No. 3. Belinda Niu and Brooke Rischbieth playing at No. 3, took down Alexandra Cercone and Stefani Stojic by a 6-3 score. Maddie Lipp and Nida Hamilton fought their way to a 6-4 win over Olivia Janowicz and Kourtney Keegan.
Florida came into the match with all six singles players nationally ranked. The Northwestern freshmen were unfazed, winning two of three matches to help the Wildcats claim the victory. Jillian Rooney was quite impressive on Saturday, taking down No. 27 Sofie Oyen at No. 4 by a 6-2, 6-1 score. Maddie Lipp, in her first singles match of the 2014 season, beat No. 39 Kourtney Keegan 7-6, (4), 7-5 at No. 5.
Senior Belinda Niu, for the second match in a row, scored the clinching point for Northwestern. Niu took down No. 23 Alexandra Cercone 7-6 (4), 6-2 to send the `Cats to Sunday's semifinal round.
NU will face the winner of UCLA and USC on Sunday. The fourth-seeded Bruins match up against the fifth-seeded Trojans Saturday night. UCLA is the No. 5 team in the country, while Southern California is ranked at No. 6.
For information on today's matches and more, visit the ITA's official event page.
Singles
1. #17 Olivia Janowicz (FLA) def. Veronica Corning (NU) 6-4, 6-3
2. #105 Belinda Niu (NU) def. #23 Alexandra Cercone (FLA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
3. #18 Brianna Morgan (FLA) vs. Alicia Barnett (NU) 7-5, 2-5, unfinished
4. Jillian Rooney (NU) def. #27 Sofie Oyen (FLA) 6-2, 6-1
5. Maddie Lipp (NU) def. #39 Kourtney Keegan (FLA) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
6. #36 Belinda Woolcock (FLA) def. Manon Peri (NU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 6, 5, 2*
Doubles
1. #32 Sofie Oyen/Belinda Woolcock (FLA) vs. #35 Alicia Barnett/Veronica Corning (NU) 5-6, unfinished
2. Maddie Lipp/Nida Hamilton (NU) def. Olivia Janowicz/Kourtney Keegan (FLA) 6-4
3. Belinda Niu/Brooke Rischbieth(NU) def. Alexandra Cercone/Stefani Stojic (FLA) 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2*
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