Feb. 21, 2004

The Fighting Illini women's tennis team picked up its first road win of the season, a 4-3 victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, N.C. today. The Illini handed the hosts their first loss of the season and improved their own record to 4-1. The match was decided in a thrilling three-set contest between Brianna Knue and Wake's Aimee Smith. Knue was up 5-3 (40-15) in the third set and had two match point opportunities, but eventually fell behind, 6-5, and down a match point before rallying back and winning the tie breaker, 8-6.

"This was a big win today," said Head Coach Sujay Lama. "We found a way to win, and Brianna showed what she was made of by playing with a lot of heart."

The Illini began the scoring by picking up the doubles point with Jennifer McGaffigan and Cynthya Goulet winning, 8-6, at No. 1, and Tiffany Eklov and Isabel Jarosz winning by the same score at No. 2. In singles, McGaffigan lost her first match of the season, falling to No. 15 Karin Coetzee 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, but Tiffany Eklov, Isabel Jarosz and Knue provided the wins that propelled the Orange and Blue to the team victory.

"Overall we played better against Harvard" said Assistant Coach JoAnne Russell. "We knew that Wake would be really tough at home and although we didn't play as well, we played tough and were able to get the win."

The next action for the Illini will be this Friday against No. 5 Washington at 1:30 p.m. at the Atkins Tennis Center. On Saturday, the Illini will face off against Western Michigan starting at 11:00 a.m.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS:
Illinois 4, Wake Forest 3

DOUBLES:
1: #10 Jennifer McGaffigan/Cynthya Goulet (ILL) def. #20 Katie Martzolf/Ashlee Davis (WF)  8-6
2: Tiffany Eklov/Isabel Jarosz (ILL) def. Danielle Schwartz/Aimee Smith (WF)               8-6
3: Karin Coetzee/Liz Proctor (WF) def. Brianna Knue/Emily Wang (ILL)                       8-3

SINGLES: 1: #15 Karin Coetzee (WF) def. #22 Jennifer McGaffigan (ILL) 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 2: Tiffany Eklov (ILL) def. #94 Katie Martzolf (WF) 6-0, 6-2 3: Isabel Jarosz (ILL) def. Danielle Schwartz (WF) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 4: Ashlee Davis (WF) def. Cynthya Goulet (ILL) 6-3, 6-2 5: Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Aimee Smith (WF) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6) 6: Liz Proctor (WF) def. Emily Wang (ILL) 6-3, 6-2