April 16, 2005
Down to the final two weekends of the regular season, No. 54 Illinois avoided its first three-match losing streak of the year to remain tied for third place in the Big Ten following Saturday's 4-3 upset in Madison.
The outcome was the Fighting Illini's ninth 4-3 finish of the season; it was their fourth win in those matches.
"This was a big road victory for us; we needed it badly," Head Coach Sujay Lama said. "All season long, we have not lost more than two matches in a row. After losing to Michigan and Notre Dame, this helped our confidence, and it's important for conference tournament seedings."
The Orange and Blue led No. 33 Wisconsin 1-0 after senior Cynthya Goulet and sophomore Emily Wang bore down to win a tiebreaker match.
"No. 1 doubles was the deciding match for us. Cynthya and Emily were down, 7-6, but played sound fundamental doubles at the end," Lama said. "They got ahead in the tiebreaker and did a good job closing it out."
After freshman Momei Qu defeated Badger senior Lindsay Martin in straight sets, the visitors held a 2-0 advantage.
The victory was the Portland, Ore. native's 12th in 14 matches.
"Momei is definitely hot right now. She's by far the most disciplined player I've had since I've been at Illinois," Lama said. "She's aggressive, she covers the court well, and she plays very smart tennis."
Fellow freshman Macall Harkins lost to 83rd-ranked Caitlin Burke, but Wang extended Illinois' lead to 3-1 with her 6-2, 6-1 win over Nicole Beck at the No. 5 spot.
"Macall has run into a couple of great opponents lately. She's finding out what it's like to play at this level," the Illini mentor said. "The bottom of our singles lineup did a better job today. Emily had not won in singles for awhile, so it was good to see her step up for us."
Although Harkins and junior Brianna Knue lost their singles matches, the pair won in doubles for the 27th time this season, propelling them into a tie for sixth place in the UI's single season record book.
Illinois' overall record improves to 11-8; it's Big Ten audit moves to 5-2. Wisconsin falls to 12-7 on the season and 4-4 in conference play.
Sunday the Illini are in Evanston to face the country's No. 3 team, Northwestern, and No. 3 player, freshman Audra Cohen.
"Tomorrow is a great opportunity for us. Northwestern is a great team and they're having a great year. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain," Lama said.
SATURDAY'S RESULTS:
#54 Illinois 4 at #33 Wisconsin 3
DOUBLES:
1 Cynthya Goulet/Emily Wang (ILL) def. Katie McGaffigan/Caitlin Burke (WIS) 9-8 (5)
2 Macall Harkins/Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Lindsay Martin/Kaylan Caiati (WIS) 8-5
3 Nicole Beck/Chelsea Nusslock (WIS) def. Momei Qu/Pavlina Akritas (ILL) 8-4
SINGLES: 1 #41 Cynthya Goulet (ILL) def. #91 Katie McGaffigan (WIS) 6-2, 6-4 2 #83 Caitlin Burke (WIS) def. Macall Harkins (ILL) 6-2, 6-3 3 Momei Qu (ILL) def. Lindsay Martin (WIS) 6-0, 6-2 4 Kaylan Caiati (WIS) def. Brianna Knue (ILL) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 5 Emily Wang (ILL) def. Nicole Beck (WIS) 6-2, 6-1 6 Chelsea Nusslock (WIS) def. Alejandra Cuadra (ILL) 7-5, 6-3
Order of finish--Doubles: 3,2,1; Singles: 3,2,5,1,4,6
