April 15, 2001
The Fighting Illini completed their sweep of this weekend's opponents with a 6-1 victory at Minnesota in Big Ten dual match action. The win pushes Illinois' season record to 13-6 and keeps the Orange and Blue into on pace with Ohio State in second place in the Big Ten race with a 7-1 conference mark, one game behind leader Northwestern.
Senior Simone Kung and sophomore Michelle Webb faltered at No. 1 doubles, but freshman Jennifer McGaffigan and sophomore Eldina Fazlic combined for a convincing 8-3 victory at No. 3 doubles over Brandi Watts and Amy Thomas. Thus, the all-important doubles point hinged on the outcome of the match at No. 2. Senior Carla Rosenberg and freshman Eva Choe fought back from a 7-4 deficit to tie the match and force a tiebreaker. The Illini won the tiebreaker, 8-6, to take a 1-0 lead going into singles play.
The Orange and Blue took that momentum from winning the doubles point and went on to win five of the six singles contests. McGaffigan (No. 1), Fazlic (No. 2), Webb (No. 5) and Rosenberg (No. 6), all won in straight sets. Kung dropped her first set, 7-5 at No. 3, but came back with a 6-2 victory and then a 10-5 tiebreaker to defeat Michaela Havelkova.
"Rosenberg and Choe's doubles match was huge," said Fazlic. "If we had lost that match, it would have given them confidence. It gave us momentum, which we used to get off to a fast start in singles."
UI Coach Sujay Lama agreed. "We started flat and Minnesota came out fast," he said. "We had a tremendous rally in doubles, which gave us a huge lift heading into singles. In singles we competed very well. Our fitness was a huge asset for us, we were able to wear down a talented Minnesota team.
"We are on a roll right now and we're peaking at the right time. This is a very cohesive team. Our players are competing very hard 75 and they have great spirit. They are really a pleasure to coach," said Lama.
The Illini wrap up the regular season next weekend with home matches against Ohio State and Penn State. The Big Ten Tournament takes place the following weekend in Columbus, Ohio.
No. 29 ILLINOIS 6 at No. 66 Minnesota 1
SINGLES
1. No. 98 Jennifer McGaffigan (ILL) def. Valerie Vladea (MINN) 7-5, 6-4
2. Eldina Fazlic (ILL) def. Amy Thomas (MINN) 7-5, 6-1
3. Simone Kung (ILL) def. Michaela Havelkova (MINN) 5-7, 6-2, (10-5)
4. Tammy Wang (MINN) def. Tiffany Eklov (ILL) 6-3, 6-0
5. Michelle Webb (ILL) def. Brandi Watts (MINN) 6-1, 6-4
6. Carla Rosenberg (ILL) def. Andrea Rose (MINN) 6-1, 6-1
DOUBLES
1. Michaela Havelkova/Valerie Vladea (MINN) def. Simone Kung/Michelle Webb (ILL) 8-2
2. Carla Rosenberg/Eva Choe def. Tammy Wang/Jennifer Howard (MINN) 9-8 (8-6)
3. Jennifer McGaffigan/Eldina Fazlic (ILL) def. Brandi Watts/Amy Thomas (MINN) 8-3
