Oct. 25, 2003
Third-seeded Jennifer McGaffigan and Cynthya Goulet won another doubles match today, and the two each won a pair of singles contests to lead the Fighting Illini's strong showing at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional in Kalamazoo, Mich. Teammates Tiffany Eklov and Brianna Knue each won a singles match, but were eliminated in the singles Round of 32.
Goulet and McGaffigan, seeded third in the tournament and ranked No. 31 in the nation, cruised to an 8-4 win against Ohio State's Erica Fisk and Jackie Leskovar. They will take on twins Catrina and Christian Thompson of Notre Dame in their quarterfinal match tomorrow.
In singles, McGaffigan dispatched Lyndsey Malony of Cincinnati, 6-2, 6-0, then eliminated Melissa Roach of Ball State, 6-1, 6-4. The senior will advance to face Victoria Domina of Eastern Michigan on Sunday. Goulet survived a tough first set to defeat Catrina Thompson, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, then handled Caroline Lay of Michigan State, 6-2, 6-1, to punch her ticket to the Round of 16. She will play Christian Thompson in her next singles match.
In other action, Tiffany Eklov won her opening-round singles match against Alexis Prousis of Northwestern, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, but then fell to Elizabeth Exon of Michigan, 7-5, 6-4. Brianna Knue was victorious in her opener, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7) over Purdue's Shawna Zuccarini; she was eliminated in the Round of 32 by Shana McElroy of Wisconsin, 6-1, 6-1. Freshman Isabel Jarosz dropped her first-round contest, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 to Dora Vastag of Indiana.
"Jenny (McGaffigan) started off playing some unbelievable tennis in her first match," said UI Assistant Coach JoAnne Russell. "Cynthya (Goulet) made a great comeback against Thompson. Tiffany (Eklov) won her opener in what was a fantastic match. And Brianna's (Knue) match with Zuccarini was an all-out war."
"I was very proud of the way all of our players competed today," said Head Coach Sujay Lama. "This is the first time we have had two players in the Round of 16 at the regional; it's clearly the best we've done since I've been at Illinois. It has been great for our team's confidence. I hope we can keep it going."
The tournament continues tomorrow with two rounds of doubles and one of singles. Complete results are available on-line at www.wmubroncos.com.
