Oct. 24, 2003
Third-seeded Jennifer McGaffigan and Cynthya Goulet won a pair of matches today as they opened main draw doubles play at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional in Kalamazoo, Mich. The duo, which is ranked No. 31 in the nation, defeated Purdue's Gretchen Haynor and Hala Sufi, 8-4, then dispatched Ivonne Andrade and Branka Savic of Northern Illinois, 8-6. The two victories propel the Illini tandem to tomorrow morning's Round of 16 during which they will face another pair from a Big Ten institution, Erica Fisk and Jackie Leskovar of Ohio State.
"Cynthya and Jenny played very well today; they showed a lot of confidence," said Illinois Head Coach Sujay Lama. "They're starting to get accustomed to one another. The success they had at the ITA All-American Tournament has helped them."
Three other UI duos competed in main draw action today. Pavlina Akritas and Leila Cehajic outlasted Liz Donahue and Kelly Nelson of Notre Dame, 9-7, but they fell in the second round to Indiana's Dora Vastag and Laura McGaffigan, 8-5. Brianna Knue and Emily Wang failed to advance to the second round, as was also the case with Isabel Jarosz and Tiffany Eklov. The former dropped an 8-6 decision to Wisconsin's Katie McGaffigan and Lindsay Martin, while the latter lost, 8-5, to Indiana's second-seeded Karie Schlukebir and Linda Tran.
"Tiffany and Isabel had some chances to upset the team from Indiana," said Lama, "but they just could not convert. We need them to capitalize when those opportunities present themselves."
In other action, Akritas failed in her bid to reach the singles main draw from the qualifying bracket. She lost her third-round match, 6-0, 6-2 to the second seed, Iowa's No. 1 player, Meg Racette.
In first-round singles main draw play Saturday (after Round-of-16 doubles), Goulet will open up against Catrina Thompson of Notre Dame; No. 3-seed Jennifer McGaffigan will compete against Lyndsey Malony of Cincinnati; Jarosz will be involved in a contest with Indiana's Dora Vastag; Eklov will tangle with Alexis Prousis of Northwestern; and Knue will square off against Purdue's Shawna Zuccarini. Second-round singles matches will also be contested tomorrow.
"We can't wait for tomorrow," Lama said. "I think our players are ready to go, and for several of them to have the chance to compete against Big Ten opponents...that's exciting for them."
The tournament winds up on Tuesday. Illini results can be found on-line at www.fightingillini.com, while full tourney information is at www.wmubroncos.com.
FRIDAY'S ILLINOIS RESULTS:
Singles:
#2-seed Meg Racette (IOWA) def. Pavlina Akritas (ILL) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles: Lindsay Martin/Katie McGaffigan (WIS) def. Emily Wang/Brianna Knue (ILL) 8-6 Pavlina Akritas/Leila Cehajic (ILL) def. Liz Donahue/Kelly Nelson (ND) 9-7 Dora Vastag/Laura McGaffigan (IND) def. Pavlina Akritas/Leila Cehajic (ILL) 8-5 #3-seed Jennifer McGaffigan/Cynthya Goulet (ILL) def. Gretchen Haynor/Hala Sufi (PUR) 8-4 #3-seed Jennifer McGaffigan/Cynthya Gouket (ILL) def. Ivonne Andrade/Branka Savic (NIU) 8-6 #2-seed Karie Schlukebir/Linda Tran (IND) def. Tiffany Eklov/Isabel Jarosz (ILL) 8-5
