April 6, 2003

Illinois' women's tennis team defeated No. 47 Ohio State 6-1 Sunday afternoon at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana. The victory moves the Fighting Illini to 5-1 in conference play, one win behind co-leaders Northwestern and Minnesota. The Illini are 12-5 overall. With the loss, Ohio State falls to 4-2 in the Big Ten and 10-7 overall.

A change in Illinois' doubles line-up proved to be the spark the Illini needed in a match that was much tighter than the final score indicates. Illini Head Coach Sujay Lama paired Tiffany Eklov and Eva Choe at No. 2 and Eldina Fazlic and Brianna Knue at No. 3.

At No. 2, Eklov and Choe breezed past Erica Fisk and Jackie Leskovar, 8-3. That win coupled with Jennifer McGaffigan and Michelle Webb's triumph at No. 1 ensured Illinois its first doubles point since March 8.

"Eva and Tiffany complement each other, with their style of play as well as their personalities," Lama said. "One is fiery while the other is calm. In regards to their style, Tiffany sets points up well and Eva puts them away. We were really desperate for a spark, and now we've found another team we can count on."

"Playing with Eva was fun," Eklov said. "The team hadn't been playing that well in doubles and we needed to try something new."

Picking up the doubles point gave the Illini momentum heading into singles.

"We were really excited after doubles," McGaffigan said. "It was the first time in a while we'd won the point. Doing that makes it easier in singles, knowing we have to win only three of six matches."

Winning those three singles matches was no easy task. The Illini prevailed in five of the six high-energy, emotional matches.

"We have a good rivalry with Ohio State," Lama said. "They compete very hard against us, we seem to bring out each other's best."

Eklov continued her sensational singles play, overwhelming Fisk, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2. The Reno, NV native attributes part of her recent success to extra hitting sessions with Lama.

Freshman Brianna Knue gave Illinois a 3-0 advantage with a 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 win at No. 5.

After dropping the first set at No. 3, Fazlic looked as if she would cruise to a three set victory, winning the second set and building a 5-1 advantage in the third.

Instead, Leskovar rallied to knot the match at 5-5.

Fazlic broke Leskovar's serve for a 6-5 advantage and clinched the match for herself and the team, winning the final game after it went to deuce. At deuce, Fazlic took the advantage by hitting a cross court winner. The match ended when Leskovar's next return ended up in the net.

With the match clinched, the remaining two matches played third set super tie-breakers, up to ten.

At No. 6, Webb won 6-7(5), 6-1, 14-12 over Lindsay Bryan.

McGaffigan, ranked 66th nationally, capped the scoring with a 3-6, 7-6(3), 12-10 victory over 53rd ranked Sadhaf Pervez at No. 1. Pervez entered the match a perfect 16-0 in singles dual-match play.

"I wasn't intimidated by her record," McGaffigan said. "I've played her before so I knew how she played. It didn't matter that she was undefeated."

"We had been in a little slump lately and I had no idea why," Lama said. "But today we took the momentum from doubles and played very well in every singles match. Winning the doubles point was pivotal, because when you don't, can eat you up pyscologically."

Illinois finishes its road matches next weekend, at Michigan on Saturday and at Michigan State on Sunday.

Today's Illinois Results:

Singles:

1. #66 Jennifer McGaffigan (ILL) def. #53 Sadhaf Pervez 3-6, 7-6(3), 1-0(10) 2. #106 Tiffany Eklov (ILL) def. Erica Fisk (OSU) 6-1, 6-4 3. Eldina Fazlic (ILL) def. Jackie Leskovar (OSU) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 4. Lindsay Williams (OSU) def. Eva Choe (ILL) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 5. Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Emily DeCamille (OSU) 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 6. Michelle Webb (ILL) def. Lindasy Bryan (OSU) 6-7(5), 6-1, 1-0(12)

Doubles: 1. #15 Webb/McGaffigan (ILL) def. Pervez/Williams (OSU) 8-4 2. Choe/Eklov (ILL) def. Fisk/Leskovar (OSU) 8-3 3. Meaghan Colville/Lindsay Adams (OSU) def. Fazlic/Knue (ILL) 9-7