Nov. 5, 2005
URBANA, Ill. - One day after sophomore Alejandra Meza Cuadra and the Illinois women's tennis team struggled in their Friday singles exhibition, Saturday, Meza Cuadra and teammates won six out of seven individual matches against Wisconsin on the penultimate day of the Midwest Blast.
Admittedly Meza Cuadra played passively on Friday versus Notre Dame's Kelly Nelson. Upon receiving a point penalty in the second set, the sophomore could not regain composure and lost 7-6(4), 6-2. Saturday's 6-0, 6-2 win showed she listened to head coach Sujay Lama's advice to speed up play and maximize opportunities.
"Yesterday was a really long match and I played a tough player," Meza Cuadra said. "I wasn't playing aggressive yesterday and didn't finish the point. Today I was more confident. I played well in doubles. In singles I was finishing up points quicker."
Afterward, Lama said he saw a different player at the sixth position than he witnessed the previous day.
"She looked faster, more explosive, she had more depth. She stayed positive. She made a big improvement from day one to day two, there's no doubt about that."
The rest of the Orange and Blue put on cruise control too, starting with a sweep of Louisville in doubles play.
"After yesterday's match we talked about not capitalizing on opportunities," Coach Lama said. "Today we tried to capitalize on those opportunities and I think we did a good job. Two of our doubles matches this morning could have gone either way but we found a way to win. There was a little more focus, intensity and desire from our players today. They had a killer instinct."
Six weeks after losing to Louisville's Maria Klokotzky and Robyn White in the Spartan Cup semifinal, Illinois' No.1 doubles tandem, senior Brianna Knue and sophomore Macall Harkins emerged with an 8-6 victory on the Atkins Tennis Center home court.
Sunday the duo has another rematch, this time opposing Notre Dame's 60th-ranked doubles team of Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft. Buck and Tefft beat Harkins and Knue in a 9-8(2) tiebreaker at the ITA Midwest Regional quarterfinal on Oct. 23.
Even though the Illini went 9-2 on Saturday, Lama hopes for perfection on Sunday.
"I'm happy with the way we came out aggressive," Lama said. "We dictated, we went after it, we were more focused. I want this to be our grand finale. I want us to finish on a really high note tomorrow. Today we lost one singles match, and tomorrow I hope we can get it done in every singles and double match."
Saturday, November 5, 2005
9:30 a.m. - Doubles: Illinois vs. Louisville, Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin
Brianna Knue/Macall Harkins (ILL) def. Maria Klokotsky/Robyn White (LOU) 8-6 Emily Wang/Momei QU (ILL) def. Suzanna Gracanin/Natalie Laszkowski (LOU) 8-2 Shivani Dave/Alejandra Meza Cuadra (ILL) def. Natalia Baez/Stephania Velazquez (LOU) 8-6 No. 60 Brook Buck/Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Elizabeth Carpenter/Nicole Beck (WIS) 8-6 Lauren Connelly/Cristina Stastny (WIS) def. Morgan Tuttle/Kaylan Caiati (WIS) 8-4 Kelly Nelson/Katie Potts (ND) def. Chelsea Nusslock/Lexi Goldin (WIS) 8-1
Extra Doubles Match
Liz Donohue/Bailey Louderback (ND) def. Pavlina Akritas/Anastasia Sokolova (ILL) 8-6
11 a.m. - Singles: Notre Dame vs. Louisville
No. 54 Brook Buck (ND) def. Maria Klokotsky (LOU) 6-3, 6-3 Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Robyn White (LOU) 6-2, 6-2 Cristina Stastny (ND) def. Bianca Gorbea (LOU) 6-0, 6-1 Lauren Connelly (ND) def. Suzanna Gracanin (LOU) 6-2, 6-3 Katie Potts (ND) def. Natalia Baez (LOU) 6-0, 6-1 Kelly Nelson (ND) def. Stephania Velazquez (LOU) 6-0, 6-1
1 p.m. - Singles: Illinois vs. Wisconsin
Macall Harkins (ILL) def. Kaylan Caiati (WIS) 6-4, 6-4 Momei Qu (ILL) def. Nicole Beck (WIS) 6-4, 6-3 Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Chelsea Nusslock (WIS) 6-0, 6-2 Emily Wang (ILL) def. Morgan Tuttle (WIS) 7-6(6), 6-2 Elizabeth Carpenter (WIS) def. Shivani Dave (ILL) 6-3, 0-6, 7-6(5) Alejandra Meza Cuadra (ILL) def. Ali Solomone (WIS) 6-0, 6-2
Extra Singles Matches
Ali Solomone (WIS) def. Bailey Louderback (ND) 6-1, 6-0 Pavlina Akritas (ILL) def. Lexi Goldin (WIS) 6-3, 6-3
