Oct. 7, 2004

The Illinois doubles team of senior Cynthya Goulet and sophomore Emily Wang will head back to campus tonight on a red-eye flight from the West Coast after being eliminated from the consolation bracket of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American Tournament in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Wang and Goulet, ranked No. 44 nationally, fell this afternoon, 8-4, to the 33rd-ranked pair of Nancy Kickott and Julie Smekodub of Tulane. The Illini duo opened the qualifying with a loss Tuesday but won two consolation matches yesterday to reach this semifinal.

"Cynthya and Emily reverted a little to the way they played on Tuesday," said UI Assistant Coach JoAnne Russell. "They made a number of unforced errors, most of them mental. All of the players out here in this tournament are good, but we made the Tulane players look better than they are. This has been an excellent learning experience for us. We need to get back to the basics, not to be fancy, but to just play good, solid, consistent, smart tennis."

Illinois returns to action two weeks from now at the ITA Midwest Regional in Kalamazoo, Mich.