Feb. 6, 2005
Determined to snap a two-match losing streak before going on the road to Harvard next weekend, Illinois picked up two important wins today at the UI Atkins Tennis Center, 7-0 over Illinois State, and 4-3 over Illinois-Chicago.
It was junior reserve Pavlina Akritas that finally stole the show for the Orange and Blue to close out a long day of tennis for Coach Sujay Lama's squad. With Illinois and UIC tied a 3-3, Akritas rallied from being behind, 4-3, in the second set of her No. 6 singles match to douse the Flames' Grace Gil-Morlis, 7-6, 7-5, and secure the victory for the hosts.
"I was very proud of Pavlina and Anastasia (Sokolova, who won her doubles match and both of her singles matches)," said Lama. "They haven't had the chance to play as much as some of the others, but they took full advantage of their opportunity today. They had a great week of preparation, and they out-worked several of their teammates this afternoon.
"Our objective today was to get as many matches as possible for as many players as possible, and we did that," Lama continued.
In that second match, the Fighting Illini took a 3-0 lead on the strength of a sweep in doubles play and wins at No. 1 from Macall Harkins and at No. 5 from Sokolova. It was the middle of the lineup that faltered, however, as the Flames came back to tie the match with wins at No. 2, 3 and 4 over Brianna Knue, Alejandra Cuadra and Emly Wang, respectively.
The Illini won all three of their doubles matches in the opener vs. Illinois State as well. One of those victories was contributed by Cuadra and Momei Qu at No. 3, in their first match as partners.
Illinois' No. 1 tandem of senior Cynthya Goulet and sophomore Emily Wang extended its win streak to eight matches, thanks to an 8-3 victory against the Redbirds' Ashley Maxwell and Veronique Parke-Bedard. Meanwhile, Knue and Harkins, ranked 54th, shut out freshman Carolyn Parent and senior Elizabeth Bingier to win their 15th match of the season.
The Orange and Blue continued its dominance in singles play, sweeping the matches for the 7-0 team triumph. No player seemed to have great difficulty, as the most Illinois State could muster in any set was four points.
Goulet won her eighth consecutive singles match, defeating Bingier, 6-1, 6-1. Lama's plan to rest some players allowed Knue to play in the No. 2 spot where she capitalized, besting Gravino 6-2, 6-3. Akritas took advantage of her opportunity to play in the fifth spot by securing a 6-3, 6-3 win versus Secharud. The match was only the second of the season for the Cyprus native. Sokolova also played in just her second match and recorded a 6-3, 6-3 win.
Next up for the Illini is a trip to Cambridge, Mass., where they will take on No. 34 Harvard Saturday evening, Feb. 12.
SUNDAY'S RESULTS:
No. 33 Illinois 7, Illinois State 0
DOUBLES 1 Cynthya Goulet/Emily Wang (ILL) def. Ashley Maxwell/Veronique Parke-Bedard (ISU) 8-3 2 #54 Macall Harkins/Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Carolyn Parent/Elizabeth Bingier (ISU) 8-0 3 Momei Qu/Alejandra Cuadra (ILL) def. Laura Gravino/Emilie Secharud (ISU) 8-3
SINGLES 1 #111 Cynthya Goulet (ILL) def. Elizabeth Bingier (ISU) 6-1, 6-1 2 Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Laura Gravino (ISU) 6-2, 6-3 3 Momei Qu (ILL) def. Veronique Parke-Bedard (ISU) 6-4, 6-4 4 Alejandra Cuadra (ILL) def. Carolyn Parent (ISU) 6-4, 6-1 5 Pavlina Akritas (ILL) def. Emilie Secharud (ISU) 6-3, 6-3 6 Anastasia Sokolova (ILL) def. Ashley Maxwell (ISU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 33 Illinois 4, Illinois-Chicago 3
DOUBLES 1 Cynthya Goulet/Emily Wang (ILL) def. Iris Jaklin/Melanie Humphrey (UIC) 8-2 2 #54 Macall Harkins/Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Corey Steven/Christina Oum (UIC) 8-3 3 Anastasia Sokolova/Alejandra Cuadra (ILL) def. Molly Smith/Grace Gil-Morlis (UIC) 9-7
SINGLES 1 Macall Harkins (ILL) def. Iris Jaklin (UIC) 6-3, 6-1 2 Corey Steven (UIC) def. Brianna Knue (ILL) 6-4, 6-3 3 Melanie Humphrey (UIC) def. Alejandra Cuadra (ILL) 7-6, 6-1 4 Molly Smith (UIC) def. Emily Wang (ILL) 7-5, 6-4 5 Anastasia Sokolova (ILL) def. Christina Oum (UIC) 6-4, 6-0 6 Pavlina Akritas (ILL) def. Grace Gil-Morlis (UIC) 7-6, 7-5
