Feb. 23, 2002

Illinois' women's tennis team defeated the Michigan State Spartans, 4-3 in dual-match action today at the Atkins Tennis Center. The Orange and Blue fell behind after doubles, but staged a comeback in singles, winning four of the six singles contests to capture the victory. The match marked the beginning of the Big Ten dual-match season.

The comeback began with the Illini trailing 3-2 and only two matches still in progress. At No. 6, junior co-captain Eldina Fazlic rallied after losing the first set, to win the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 and tie the match at 3-3. The clincher came on No. 3 where sophomore Eva Choe lost her first set, but regrouped and fought back for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Michigan State's Asa Liden.

Said Fazlic, "I didn't pay any attention to the scoreboard, I was concentrating on winning my match. It feels good to pull it out. I gained a lot of confidence from today." Added Choe, "The key to my match was that I expected to win. I knew that we were going to pull together and get it done as a team and that is what happened. We learned a lot about ourselves today and gained some confidence after winning a tight match like this."

Illinois' other singles points came in victories at No. 1 by sophomore Jennifer McGaffigan, ranked 38th nationally, and classmate Tiffany Eklov. Both were straight-set wins. Head Coach Sujay Lama was particularly impressed with Eklov.

"Tiffany was unbelievable today," commented Lama. "She was the one player who really stepped up when we needed it. Tiffany is capable of playing like this every match and if she continues, she will have a heck of a year."

Continued Lama, "Eldina and Eva rose to the occasion today. They are both experienced players who have been in this position before and today they competed well when it counted."

The Illini put themselves in a 1-0 hole at the beginning when they dropped the doubles point. The tandem of McGaffigan and freshman Cynthya Goulet destroyed their opponent, 8-1 on court 1 while on court 2, the junior duo of Michelle Webb and Liz Fraker were upended, 8-4. The deciding match on court 3 was a marathon 9-8 (5) contest, with Dora Vastog and Asa Liden of Michigan State squeezing past the Illinois team of Choe and freshman Kate Boomershine.

"This is the type of match that builds a teams' character," stated Lama. "We are a young team and we have a long way to go, but we saw some good things today. We were resilient and did not give up, and we were fortunate to come away with the win."

Illinois' next match will be tomorrow as the Michigan Wolverines come to town. The match is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CST at the Atkins Tennis Center

TODAY'S ILLINOIS RESULTS:
Singles:
1. #38 Jennifer McGaffigan (ILL) def. Dora Vastag (MSU)	6-1, 6-1
2. Tiffany Eklov (ILL) def. Mandy Caldemeyer (MSU)      6-1, 6-3
3. Asa Linden (MSU) def. Kate Boomershine (ILL)		6-1, 6-1
4. Eva Choe (ILL) def. Caroline Lay (MSU)		4-6, 6-3, 6-3
5. Eldina Fazlic (ILL) def. Keri Thompson (MSU)       	4-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Trine Lise Juliussen (MSU) def. Michelle Webb (ILL)	2-6, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles:
1. McGaffigan/Cynthya Goulet (ILL) def. Caldemeyer/Kate Thomas (MSU)	8-1
2. Lay/Juliussen (MSU) def. Webb/Liz Fraker (ILL)			8-4
3. Vastag/Liden (MSU) def. Boomershine/Choe (ILL)			9-8 (5)