April 6, 2002

Illinois' women's tennis team snapped its seven-match losing streak with a 4-3 triumph over No. 61 Iowa at the Atkins Tennis Center today. The victory improves Illinois' record to 8-10 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten. Iowa fell to 5-10 overall and 2-3 in the conference.

"I am so happy for the ladies," said head coach Sujay Lama. "It was difficult to lose so many matches in a row, but we didn't throw in the towel. We came back and practiced hard and it showed. There was no quit in us today. Everybody played their hearts out. We will enjoy this one."

In doubles action, the Fighting Illini dropped two of three matches, at No. 1 and No. 3. At No.2, the sophomore duo of Jennifer McGaffigan and Eva Choe won, 8-5, over Iowa's Steffi Hoch and Pascale Veraverbeke. McGaffigan and Choe have won four of their last six doubles contests, including two in a row.

On the singles side, the Illini won in straight-sets at Nos. 4, 5, and 6 to take a 3-1 advantage. Iowa rallied and won at No. 3, but McGaffigan came through on No.1 with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory for the match-clincher. Iowa was also victorious on No. 2 to capture the final point.

Lama continued, "Team chemistry is a vital element for success and this week we finally became a team. We are all on the same page and that makes a huge difference. We had a great week of practice, so it didn't surprise me how well we worked together."

Illinois will be back in action next weekend when it hosts Wisconsin and Minnesota at the Atkins Tennis Center.

Today's Illinois Results: ILLINOIS 4, IOWA 3

Singles
1. No. 55 Jennifer McGaffigan (ILL) def. No. 104 Toni Neykova (IOWA)     3-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. Steffi Hoch (IOWA) def. Tiffany Eklov (ILL)                           7-6 (6), 5-7, 7-6 (3)
3. No. 106 Cassie Haas (IOWA) def. Cynthya Goulet (ILL)                  6-4, 7-6 (6)
4. Eva Choe (ILL) def. Deni Alexandrova (IOWA)                           6-4, 6-2
5. Eldina Fazlic (ILL) def. Pascale  Veraverbeke (IOWA)                  6-1, 7-5
6. Michelle Webb (ILL) def. Jennifer Hodgman (IOWA)                      6-2, 6-1

Doubles

1. Toni Neykova/Deni Alexandrova (IOWA) def. Cynthya Goulet/Michelle Webb (ILL)        8-1

2. Eva Choe/Jennifer McGaffigan (ILL) def. Steffi Hoch/Pascale Veraverbeke (IOWA)       8-5

3. Cassie Haas/Gloria Okino (IOWA) def. Eldina Fazlic/Tiffany Eklov (ILL)                         8-2