Nov. 1, 1999

The Fighting Illini women netters had a treat at Tulane's Green Wave Invitational over the Halloween weekend. Now, the only trick is getting the tournament completed.

Illinois ended its fall portion of the schedule strongly, sending pairs of singles players and doubles squads to their respective championship rounds. The only problem for the Fighting Illini is getting the opportunity to play the finals. Due to inclement weather and scheduling conflicts at Tulane's indoor facilities, the all-Illini finals will take place on Friday at the Atkins Tennis Center instead of New Orleans, La. In the singles finals, senior Natalia Manasova will take on sophomore Brooke Ferney at 3 p.m. Following that match, Manasova will team with freshman Eldina Fazlic to face junior Carla Rosenberg and freshman Michelle Webb for the doubles title.

"I was just so excited by the incredible weekend," Head Coach Sujay Lama said. "With people in the finals and other players playing so well, it was just really exciting to see how far they have come."

Ferney, of Caldwell, Idaho, dropped only one set on her way to the finals, defeating Tulane's Anneli Axsater 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the semifinals. Also losing only a set, Manasova rolled in the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Olga Mikhailova of TU. In the other half of the draw, Rosenberg battled through a trio of three-set matches to the semifinals before falling to LSU's Anna Mores. After losing their first round matches, Fazlic and senior Megan Wise went on to pick up three victories a piece in the singles consolation draw.

With two teams in the finals, Lama's experiment of juggling the Illini doubles lineup proved successful. Fazlic and Manasova cruised to the finals while Rosenberg and Webb passed a 9-7 semifinal test.

"The kids have worked so hard this fall," Lama said. "I told them to keep working hard and they would see the results, and it's great to end the fall season this way."