Feb. 23, 2003

Illinois' women's tennis team notched the biggest win in program history Sunday with 4-3 defeat of top-ranked Duke at the Atkins Tennis Center. Duke came into the match at 9-0 while having six players ranked in the top-100 nationally in singles and three doubles teams in the top-50. Trailing 3-2 the Fighting Illini turned to two of its best clutch performers to pull out the win. Senior Eldina Fazlic and junior Jennifer McGaffigan did not let the team down.

McGaffigan, No. 41 nationally, found herself in a familiar position with the team needing a win to clinch the match. After winning the first set 6-2, the UI junior dropped the second set 6-4 forcing the deciding set.

With their match tied at five, Duke's Amanda Johnson broke McGaffigan's serve to go up 6-5 and seemingly clinch the match for the Blue Devils. Instead the resilient McGaffigan rallied to tie the contest at six each, leading to a match-deciding tie-breaker. In the breaker, McGaffigan never trailed. The Davenport, Iowa native capitalized on Johnson's mistakes; built a 5-1 lead and set off the celebration with a 7-3 win.

"I was excited, nervous and kind of tired toward the end," McGaffigan said. "But when I looked at my teammates and the crowd, they gave me so much energy. Whenever I made a shot or she missed one, the crowd was ecstatic. In the end, we had more energy. "

McGaffigan, who was 4-4 in her previous eight matches was replaced at the No. 1 spot by classmate Tiffany Eklov, who has been on a roll winning five in a row and six of her last eight.

McGaffigan said. "The coaches had given me scouting reports and she played a lot like the girl I played from Minnesota, so I used the same strategy I had in that match. Johnson has a really good forehand, so I concentrated on sending shots at her backhand."

"When Eldina won her match, I knew we would win because Jenny was still playing" Head Coach Sujay Lama said. "I've said it many times, with the match on the line, there is no one I'd rather have on the court than Jennifer McGaffigan."

Fazlic set the stage for McGaffigan's heroics with some of her own. Instead of folding after dropping the first set 6-1, Fazlic evened the score, taking the second set 6-4. Going into the final set, Fazlic was confident she would prevail.

"I've won tough three set matches already this year, so I knew I could win" Fazlic said. "My opponent was playing at such a high level early, I knew she couldn't sustain it throughout the match."

With the third set tied at three, Fazlic took control and finished off her opponent, winning three of the final four games.

"In singles, we competed very, very well," Lama said. "The biggest boost we got was when Brianna and Michelle won their matches. At that point we had all the momentum even though we were still behind. Eldina fed off that and really picked up her level of play. She was unreal."

Duke took the doubles point, winning 8-0 on No. 2 and 8-6 on No.3, but they lost any momentum when the Illini tandem of McGaffigan and senior Michelle Webb, ranked 21st nationally, beat Duke's No. 13 team of Hillary Adams and Kelly McCain. The hard-fought victory gave Illinois the confidence it needed heading into singles.

"After our win, we knew we had the momentum," Webb said. "Going into the locker room, it didn't feel like we were down 1-0, everyone was pumped up. We knew we had nothing to lose."

Webb, at No. 6, and Brianna Knue, at No. 4, picked up the other Illinois singles victories. Webb defeated Prim Siripipat 6-3, 6-3 despite battling sickness over the last few days.

Knue, who had dropped her last four matches, showed no signs of giving up in her match against 36th-ranked Julie DeRoo despite being down 4-1 in each set. The UI freshman returned to the player who won 13 of her first 17 collegiate matches.

"I have been struggling lately and lost some of my confidence," Knue said. "The last few matches I've been trying too hard. Today I executed on the key points and decided to make her try and beat me."

The win was the first versus a top-ranked opponent for a Lama coached Illini squad.

"At first, I was speechless," Lama said. "This program hasn't experienced anything like this. It's been a long time coming. In my four and a half years, we've had many opportunities to break through and today it finally happened. We are on a tremendous high right now."

"I felt all week we could win," Assistant Coach JoAnne Russell said. "I've convinced Sujay and the team that when you think and speak positive, good things happen. All week we didn't hesitate when someone asked if we thought we would win and today we showed how good we can be. Today was really fun and we can enjoy it tonight, but tomorrow we're going to get back and get focused on Wake Forest."

Illinois' next match is next Sunday, March 2 when Wake Forest invades the Atkins Tennis Center.

Today's Illinois Results:
Singles:
1. No.2 Kelly McCain (DU) def. Tiffany Eklov (ILL)			6-3, 6-2
2. No. 41 Jennifer McGaffigan (ILL)  def. No. 15 Amanda Johnson (DU)	6-2, 2-6, 7-6(3)
3. Eldina Fazlic (ILL) def. No. 98 Katie Granson (DU)			1-6, 6-4, 6-4
4  Brianna Knue (ILL) def.  No. 36 Julie DeRoo (DU)			6-4, 6-4
5. No. 43 Saras Arasu (DU) def. Eva Choe (ILL)				6-4, 6-4
6. Michelle Webb (ILL) def. Prim Siripipat (DU)				6-3, 6-3

Doubles: 1. No. 21 Jennifer McGaffigan/Michelle Webb (ILL) def. No. 13 Hillary Adams/Kelly McCain (DU) 8-6 2. No. 11 Amanda Johnson/Julie DeRoo (DU) def. Tiffany Eklov/Brianna Knue (ILL) 8-0 3. No. 49 Katie Granson/Julia Smith (DU) def. No. 54 Eldina Fazlic/Eva Choe (ILL) 8-6