Jan. 16, 2005
The Illinois women's tennis team finished a week of outdoor workouts and began its dual-match season on a high note, defeating the Rainbow Wahines of Hawaii, 6-1, this afternoon in Honolulu.
It was the first dual match in the collegiate careers of three Illinois freshmen: Macall Harkins, Momei Qu and Anastasia Sokolova, who made Coach Sujay Lama's opening-day starting singles lineup in the Nos. 2, 3 and 5 spots, respectively. Harkins and Qu were victorious in their debuts.
The 33rd-ranked Fighting Illini also picked up wins from senior Cynthya Goulet (111th-ranked) at No. 1 and juniors Brianna Knue and Pavlina Akritas, at Nos. 4 and 6, respectively.
Illinois swept the doubles matches. Harkins and Knue appear to have won the closely contested battle for the No. 1 position in the lineup, at least for the time being. The pair was successful in its dual-match opener with an 8-4 win. Goulet and sophomore Emily Wang won their No. 2 match by the same score, and Qu and Sokolova posted an 8-4 decision as well at No. 3.
"This was a great way to end a productive week," said Lama. "We worked very hard out here, and I was very pleased with the way our players came out today and set the tone for the match in doubles. Singles was a little sloppy, but our players competed well. Cynthya and Brianna were our veterans out there, and I thought they were good leaders, all week and during the match. We have a lot to work on, of course, but we expect that at this time of year."
With the victory, Illinois takes a 1-0 mark into its next match, a road duel at Marquette on Saturday. The Rainbow Wahines fall to 0-2 on the year.
Singles:
1. No. 111 Cynthya Goulet (ILL) def. No. 94 Lauren Fitzgerald (Hawaii) 6-2, 6-3
2. Macall Harkins (ILL) def. Sylvia Jaros (Hawaii) 6-3, 7-5
3. Momei Qu (ILL) def. Justine Boutet (Hawaii) 6-0, 6-1
4. Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Paige Mainor (Hawaii) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
5. Kimberly Curtis (Hawaii) def. Anastasia Sokolova (ILL) 7-6 (5), 6-0
6. Pavlina Akritas (ILL) def. Kana Aikawa (Hawaii) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles:
1. No. 54 Macall Harkins/Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Lauren Fitzgerald/Paige Mainor 8-4
2. Cynthya Goulet/Emily Wang (ILL) def. Sylvia Jaros/Julia Sandborn (Hawaii) 8-4
3. Anastsia Sokolova/Momei Qu (ILL) def. Kimberly Curtis/Chloe Bihag (Hawaii) 8-4
