April 4, 2004
The 24th-ranked Fighting Illini used a true team effort this afternoon to down the No. 7 Northwestern Wildcats, 4-3, in Big Ten women's action at the UI Atkins Tennis Center. The win today moves Illinois' season record to 13-3 and its conference record to 4-1. It was the first victory for the Orange and Blue against the perennial Big Ten power since April of 2000. The Wildcats dip to 13-4 overall, and 3-1 in the conference.
"The main thing I told the players was they had to believe in themselves," said Head Coach Sujay Lama. "I told them they had to believe that they, themselves, could do it, that their teammates could do it, and that their coaches could help them win."
Illinois took an early 1-0 lead after winning two of the three doubles matches. Jennifer McGaffigan and Cynthya Goulet posted an impressive 8-3 victory over second-ranked Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush at the No. 1 spot. Tiffany Eklov and Isabel Jarosz battled with Alexis Prousis and Jamie Peisel before pulling away late to claim an 8-6 win and clinch the doubles point. Emily Wang and Brianna Knue dropped their match at No. 3 to Andrea Yung and Ruth Barnes by the score of 8-2.
"We had played them (Grier and Rush) in the fall," said Goulet. "We knew we were close with them then. It was just a matter of getting it done, and we played really well today. From the start we really took it to them; we were on top of our game."
The Illini started strong in singles play as Eklov dominated the No. 38 Rush, 6-0, 6-3, at the No. 2 position. Senior Eva Choe bounced back a tough match yesterday to defeat Barnes, 7-5, 6-1 in the No. 6 match. It was Goulet who clinched the victory for Illinois. She battled through a three-set match to defeat Prousis 7-5, 3-6, 6-0, in the contest at No. 3. The Illini dropped the other three matches to the Wildcats. McGaffigan fell at No. 1 to the third-ranked Grier, 6-1, 6-3. Knue lost her No. 5 match to Andrea Yung, 6-1, 6-3. After the outcome was decided, Jarosz lost a close two-set match with Jamie Peisel, 7-6(1), 7-6(6).
"After not playing for awhile and coming back now from my surgery," said Choe, "to be able to contribute to this win for the team feels unreal. Especially in a match like this against Northwestern, our biggest rival, it just feels awesome that I could help out the team."
"This was a very important win for us," said Lama, "especially for us to get back into the regular season race. Now I feel like we control our own fate. We will enjoy this win today, but then we will move on and focus our attention on Penn State."
Illinois will hit the road next weekend with a match on Saturday at Penn State before traveling to take on Ohio State on Sunday.
TODAY'S RESULTS:
at #24 Illinois 4, #7 Northwestern 3
SINGLES
1. #3 Cristelle Grier (NU) def. #34 Jennifer McGaffigan (ILL) 6-1, 6-3
2. Tiffany Eklov (ILL) def. #38 Jessica Rush (NU) 6-0, 6-3
3. Cynthya Goulet (ILL) def. Alexis Prousis (NU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-0
4. Jamie Peisel (NU) def. Isabel Jarosz 7-6(1), 7-6(6)
5. Andrea Yung (NU) def. Brianna Knue (ILL) 6-1, 6-3
6. Eva Choe (ILL) def. Ruth Barnes (NU) 7-5, 6-1
DOUBLES 1. #9 Jennifer McGaffigan/Cynthya Goulet (ILL) def. #2 Cristelle Grier/Jessica Rush (NU) 8-3 2. Tiffany Eklov/Isabel Jarosz (ILL) def. Alexis Prousis/Jamie Peisel (NU) 8-6 3. Andrea Yung/Ruth Barnes (NU) def. Emily Wang/Brianna Knue (ILL) 8-2
