Jan. 22, 2005

The Illinois women's tennis team moved to 2-0 on the young season with a 7-0 victory over Marquette this afternoon in Milwaukee. The Illini swept the doubles matches, then won all six of the singles tilts, only one of which went to three sets.

The three-set win came in the collegiate debut of the newest Illini, Alejandra Cuadra, who became eligible yesterday after completing NCAA paperwork. Cuadra dispatched the Golden Eagles' Erin Watkins, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the No. 5 match.

"Alejandra showed no effects of a hectic start to her college life at Illinois this week," said UI Head Coach Sujay Lama. "She did a great job in her opening match."

Other highlights in singles play included freshman Momei Qu's shutout (6-0, 6-0) win at No. 3 and Cynthya Goulet's and Brianna Knue's straight-set wins at No. 1 and No. 4, respectively. Goulet leads the team with an 11-4 singles record.

Illinois (ranked No. 33) was similarly dominant in doubles play. Lama flip-flopped his No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams from the Hawaii match a week ago. The 54th-ranked Knue and Harkins moved their team-leading doubles record to 14-2 with their 8-1 victory in the No. 2 slot, while Goulet and Emily Wang teamed up for an 8-4 decision at No. 1.

"We definitely saw signs of improvement since the Hawaii match," said Lama. "It's still early in the season, and we can definitely play better, but I liked the energy I saw out there. Some of our players need to do a better job of finishing, because against better opponents, there will be fewer opportunities to close out matches. I was very pleased with our freshmen. They're getting used to dual matches now and they're gaining confidence each week."

Illinois finally returns home for a pair of matches next weekend at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana. The Illini home opener with 30th-ranked Wake Forest is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 28 at 4 p.m. The Tennessee Volunteers, ranked No. 18, come to town for a noon contest on Sunday, Jan. 30.

TODAY'S ILLINOIS RESULTS:

Singles:

1  No. 111 Cynthya Goulet (ILL) def. Callan Smith (MARQ)   6-2, 6-2
2  Macall Harkins (ILL) def. Maria Calbeto (MARQ)          6-0, 7-5
3  Momei Qu (ILL) def. Elsemieke Doktor (MARQ)             6-0, 6-0
4  Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Francina Bonnelly (MARQ)        6-2, 6-3
5  Alejandra Cuadra (ILL) def. Erin Watkins (MARQ)         4-6, 7-5, 6-3
6  Emily Wang (ILL) def. Dominika Dabrowski (MARQ)         7-5, 6-1

Doubles:

1  Cynthya Goulet/Emily Wang (ILL) def. Maria Calbeto/Callan Smith (MARQ)                   8-4
2  No. 54 Macall Harkins/Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Francina Bonnelly/Elsemieke Doktor (MARQ)  8-1
3  Anastsia Sokolova/Momei Qu (ILL) def. Dominika Dabrowski/Erin Watkins (MARQ)             8-4