Oct. 24, 2004
The Fighting Illini women's team will send one doubles duo and one singles player into competition that resumes Sunday at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional in Minneapolis, Minn. at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center.
Freshman Macall Harkins and junior Brianna Knue will take on Megan Racette and Hillary Mintz of Iowa in doubles quarterfinal action that begins Sunday at 9 a.m. Senior Cynthya Goulet is scheduled to play her round-of-16 singles match Sunday at 2:30 p.m. against Michigan's Elizabeth Exon.
Knue and Harkins earned that doubles berth with an 8-6 victory Saturday over Exon and Nina Yaftali, while Goulet posted a pair of wins to move on. She beat Chelsea Nusslock of Wisconsin, 6-2, 6-2, in the round of 64, then followed with a triumph by the same score against Northwestern's Jamie Peisel.
"Brianna and Macall play so well together," said UI Head Coach Sujay Lama. "They both have big serves, and that really puts pressure on their opponents. They didn't play quite as well as they did Friday, but they competed so hard, and responded well to coaching.
"Cynthya is very gifted, and she's been playing more aggressive lately," Lama continued. "It's great to have her in the round of 16. And Emily (Wang) was much better prepared to compete this time around."
In other Saturday matches, Wang defeated Western Michigan's Malena Remynse, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, but then was eliminated from the singles bracket by Racette, 6-4, 6-3. Freshman Momei Qu started off with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Lauren Connelly of Notre Dame, but lost to Eastern Michigan's Victoria Domina, 6-4, 6-3. Sarah Jane Connelly of Notre Dame eliminated Knue in the opening round of singles, 6-0, 6-2.
LATE-ARRIVING RESULTS FROM FRIDAY:
In Friday's action, freshman Macall Harkins failed in her attempt to earn a berth in the singles main draw when she fell, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, to Michigan's Nina Yaftali in the morning.
"Macall played well early in the match, and she had opportunities in the third set and could not capitalize," said Lama. "She made several freshman mistakes, but it was a good learning match for her."
Main draw doubles action began in the afternoon, and Harkins and junior Brianna Knue got off to a strong start with an 8-1 decision over Amber Lenfert and Diane Lutzke of Western Illinois. They followed that up with an impressive 8-3 victory over DePaul's Petra Rehusova and Marina Parashkevova.
"They were exciting to watch," said Lama of Knue and Harkins. "They played very well, and I think it's safe to say that they have earned the No. 2 spot in our doubles lineup. After today, they may even be challenging Cynthya (Goulet) and Emily (Wang), because those two came out very flat and put on a very disappointing performance, as did Pavlina (Akritas) and Momei (Qu)."
Akritas and Qu dropped their opener, 8-3, to Cassie Drake and Daniela Martinez of Northern Illinois. The 44th-ranked duo of Goulet and Wang, who were seeded fourth, had an opening-round bye, but were then upset in the second round by Western Michigan's Malena Remunse and Rattiya Hiranrat, 9-8(8). The Illini pair were unable to capitalize on any of six match-point situations.
Follow the Illini in the tournament on the internet at www.fightingillini.com. Complete tourney results can be found at www.gophersports.com.
