Oct. 25, 2004
The Fighting Illini players' run at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midweste Regional Tournament at the University of Minnesota ended today, but UI Coach Sujay Lama had plenty to be proud of.
Senior Cynthya Goulet lost, 6-3, 6-3, to the nation's No. 1 player, Northwestern's Cristelle Grier, in the singles quarterfinal today.
"This match was a wonderful experience for Cynthya," said Lama. "She went toe-to-toe with Grier; she played well and put forth great effort."
This was the third year in a row that the ITA Midwest Regional pitted duos from Illinois and Northwestern in its doubles final. Two years ago, UI standouts Jennifer McGaffigan and Michelle Webb beat the 'Cats' Marine Piriou and Jessica Rush. Last year McGaffigan and Goulet fell to Grier and Rush. This time it was fifth-seeded Grier and freshman Audra Cohen that took the title, 8-3, over Illinois' surprising tandem of freshman Macall Harkins and junior Brianna Knue.
The loss broke a four-match winning streak for the surprising Illinois duo, which is now 8-2 on the season.
"Brianna and Macall were up, 3-1, 40-15 on them and couldn't capitalize," Lama said. "When they lost that fifth game, it seemed to open the door for Northwestern. But it was a good effort against a great team.
"This weekend has been very positive for us. I think our players have shown that, although we have a very young team, we have plenty of potential to be good this coming spring."
The pair's early success has fueled speculation that there may be a real battle on the horizon for the No. 1 doubles spot with Goulet and sophomore Emily Wang, who seemed to be heirs apparent when the fall began.
"We have practiced quite a bit with Emily and Cynthya this fall," said Harkins, "but we haven't actually played a full match against them. It would be a pretty interesting battle if we did. Brianna and I just seemed to hit it off right away when I got here, and we've had some success already."
The Fighting Illini return home to host their own tournament, the Midwest Blast next week. The four-team affair, which brings South Alabama, Rice and South Florida to the Atkins Tennis Center Nov. 5-7, will wrap up the UI fall season.
