April 25, 2003
Illinois' women's tennis team defeated Wisconsin 4-1 Friday afternoon at the Champaign Park District Indoor Tennis Courts in a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal match. The victory was Illinois' first tournament win since 2001 when it was the runner-up. In the victory, the Illini proved to be strong in singles and doubles.
In doubles, the Illini's Tiffany Eklov and Eldina Fazlic teamed to defeat Wisconsin's Shana McElroy and Lara Vojnov, 8-2 at No. 2. It was the duo's third win in its last four matches. At No. 3, a pair of tournament rookies clinched the doubles point for the Orange and Blue. Sophomore Leila Cehajic and freshman Brianna Knue came back from a 5-3 deficit to rattle off five consecutive games and pick up an 8-5 win.
"I've never had so much fun on the court," Cehajic said. "We had amazing fan support, it really got us energized. We could see it in each other's eyes that everyone wanted to win. We made this our Atkins for the day, but now we're excited to get back home tomorrow in front of the fans."
In accordance with tournament rules, the match at No. 1 was abandoned with Illinois leading 6-5.
During the tournament, play is stopped once the winner of the doubles point is determined. Singles play is halted after the winner of the match has been determined.
In singles, the Fighting Illini, backed by a boisterous home crowd, were determined not to squander their 1-0 advantage.
"The energy we had today, from our players as well as the fans, was unbelievable," Head Coach Sujay Lama said. "I can't say enough about this group of kids. They give (Assistant Coach) JoAnne (Russell) and I everything we could ask for.. They could have made the excuse that we played here instead of at Atkins, but they didn't. Instead they used it as motivation. We came out firing on all cylinders."
Illinois picked up its second point at No. 3 where Fazlic, after stumbling early, recovered to beat the Badgers' Katie McGaffigan 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. The win was Fazlic's 23rd of the season, which is a career high for the senior.
Knue gave the Illini a 3-0 lead with her 7-5, 6-1 triumph over Lindsay Martin. The performance wowed Lama.
"That was the best match I've ever seen Brianna play," Lama said. "We've talked about the tournament being an opportunity for someone to step up and today Brianna stepped it up big time. She wasn't alone though, I thought Leila played great in singles and doubles. Eldina too, she was playing on a very sore ankle as if it were no big deal."
Senior Michelle Webb clinched the match for the Illini with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win at No. 5.
Illinois now turns it attention to second-seeded Northwestern in tomorrow's semi-finals.
"Today was a really good tune-up for Northwestern," junior Jennifer McGaffigan said. "Everyone played well and competed hard today. We'll be ready tomorrow."
"Northwestern is a very well coached team," Lama said. "They are the defending champs. I'm excited though. We have a great opportunity playing at home, but we absolutely have to come with our 'A' game and go out and battle. Already this year, it's been shown that anything can happen, we just need to go out and give it our best."
The Illini's match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana, following the conclusion of the other semifinal match between Minnesota and Purdue.
Today's Illinois Results:
SINGLES:
1 Linde Mues (UW) def. # 64 Jennifer McGaffigan (ILL) 7-5, 7-5
2 #111 Tiffany Eklov (ILL) vs. Shana McElroy (UW) abandoned
3 Eldina Fazlic (ILL) def. Katie McGaffigan (UW) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
4 Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Lindsay Martin (UW) 7-5, 6-1
5 Michelle Webb (ILL) de.f Lara Vojnoc (UW) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
6 Leila Cehajic (ILL) vs. Teresa Gonzaga (UW) abandoned
DOUBLES: 1 #20 Jennifer McGaffigan/Webb (ILL) vs Mues/Martin (UW) abandoned 2 Eklov/Fazlic (ILL) def. McElroy/Vojnov (UW) 8-2 3 Knue/Cehajic (ILL) def. Katie McGaffigan/Gonzaga 8-5
