Jan. 21, 2005
Warmed by a trip to Oahu and a 6-1 season-opening victory over Hawaii, 33rd-ranked Illinois travels to Milwaukee looking to de-claw the Marquette Golden Eagles tomorrow and improve to 2-0 this season.
The Illini are led by 111th-ranked Cynthya Goulet. Goulet (10-4), a senior, will likely face Marquette's top player, Callan Smith (10-2) in the No. 1 singles match. On the doubles side, Illinois' top tandem, 54th-ranked Macall Harkins and Brianna Knue (12-2), will try to extend their five-match winning streak at Helfaer Tennis Stadium.
Sujay Lama's UI program is 4-0 against Jody Bronson's Marquette contingent since 2001, claiming 6-1 victories in each of the last four years. MU seeks a winning start to its season after last year's 6-17 finish.
"I have a lot of respect for Coach Bronson and her program," said Lama. "She's a veteran, and she knows how to get her team ready to play. We cannot afford to give less than our best against Marquette."
Lama is particularly pleased about the recent progress of his two juniors, Brianna Knue and Pavlina Akritas.
"Pavlina grew up playing on red clay in Cyprus--a much slower game, but now she's adjusting to the more aggressive style that is required on hard courts. She's looking better and better--more prepared, both mentally and physically, to play. I'm also excited about Brianna. She's finally regaining her comfort and confidence after rehabilitating from her injury last spring. She didn't play her best in Hawaii last week, but I think she's really coming along.
"The work our team put in while we were in Hawaii will start to show up. We have had some tough practices over the past two weeks since the girls came back from break. Our players know exactly what they need to work on, and they have been very focused in their preparations. And our freshmen (Momei Qu, Anastasia Sokolova and Macall Harkins) will be more settled with one match under their belts."
One freshman will join the starting lineup without having had the benefit of playing in that match. Alejandra Meza Cuadra joined the team two weeks ago and has enrolled in second-semester classes at Illinois. With the completion of NCAA paperwork today, Lama expects to see what the Lima, Peru native is made of right away.
"Alejandra is a great addition to our team," said Lama. "She will probably play at either No. 5 or No. 6 in the singles lineup on Saturday. She is an aggressive baseliner, and comes in as well prepared physically for college tennis as any player I have coached in my six years at Illinois."
Cuadra has impressive credentials, both on and off the court. She was ranked No. 1 nationally in Peru in both the 16-under and 18-under age divisions while playing junior tennis, and was asked to play on the national team. The political science major, who graduated in the top 10 percent of her high school class and is fluent in French and Spanish, hopes to eventually work with the United Nations to assist developing countries.
