April 9, 2005
The Fighting Illini women's tennis team dropped four out of six initial singles sets Saturday afternoon, but bounced back to defeat No. 62 Michigan State, 5-2, at the UI Atkins Tennis Center.
The home team led, 1-0, after its seventh doubles sweep of the season and its first in Big Ten play.
"We were really sharp. Our No. 3 team really set the tone. One and two, when they see that three-team fired up, that's going to give them a lot of confidence, because then they don't feel that pressure like, `Oh, we have to win,'" Head Coach Sujay Lama said.
Following a shutout doubles win, freshman Momei Qu captured the first set of her match against Pascale Schnitzer. Schnitzer's spin created problems for Qu, but as always, the Portland, Ore., native remained focused and resilient, according to Lama.
Senior Cynthya Goulet lost her first set to MSU's top player, Keri Thompson; it was Goulet's fourth first-set loss this season and first since Oct. 24, before coming from behind to win in three sets.
"That's been Cynthya all year long. She finds a way to win," Lama said. "Two years ago, in that match, she would have been done in 20 minutes; she would have been so frustrated. (Now) she's frustrated, but she contains herself. She found a way. She was willing to listen to (assistant coach JoAnne Russell). JoAnne did a phenomenal job of coaching her."
Lama has watched Thompson for four years and called it the Spartan's best performance yet.
"I've seen Keri Thompson (MSU's No. 1 singles player) play for four years now," Lama said. "That's the best set I've ever seen her play. "All (assistant coach JoAnne Russell) told Cynthya was, `Hang in there. Don't give up. We'll find a way.' I think Cynthya adjusted to Keri's game and figured out she liked the pace in the first set. So we decided to change it up."
The Orange and Blue's other straight-set winner, junior Brianna Knue, beat Shelley Brady 6-0, 6-2, for her fourth consecutive win.
"(Knue winning is) huge. Now we can give a little bit more time to the younger kids. Juniors and seniors are supposed to step up," Lama said. "The best thing about Brianna is that when she starts playing well, she starts yelling and screaming for Macall. She can really, really liven up the team and give them a lot of confidence."
Playing singles for the first time in more than a month, sophomore Emily Wang grabbed an early lead before falling to Sarah Andrews 7-5, 6-1.
"I thought she did a great job. She's rusty (she had not played singles in almost a month). I thought she gave a great effort in doubles," Lama said. "Now she's back on track. I said, `Sooner or later, you're going to start playing well. I don't expect your best right off the bat.'"
Third-place Illinois hosts seventh-place and 38th-ranked Michigan Sunday and No. 31 Notre Dame Wednesday before heading to No. 33 Wisconsin and No. 2 Northwestern next weekend.
"(Michigan is) definitely a very talented team. It's going to be a battle, but I think this match was good preparation for tomorrow. We've got to use our home-court advantage," Lama said. "We've got to come out like we came out in doubles today. We want to stay in place for that race."
SATURDAY'S RESULTS:
at #53 Illinois 5, #68 Michigan State 2
DOUBLES:
1 Cynthya Goulet/Emily Wang (ILL) def. Keri Thompson/Christine Bader (MSU) 8-4
2 Macall Harkins/Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Sarah Andrews/Jessica Baron (MSU) 8-1
3 Pavlina Akritas/Momei Qu (ILL) def. Pascale Schnitzer/Karen Gustafson (MSU) 8-0
SINGLES: 1 #59 Cynthya Goulet (ILL) def. #121 Keri Thompson (MSU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 2 Macall Harkins (ILL) def. Christine Bader (MSU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 3 Momei Qu (ILL) def. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU) 6-3, 7-6 (6) 4 Brianna Knue (ILL) def. Shelley Brady (MSU) 6-0, 6-2 5 Jessica Baron (MSU) def. Pavlina Akritas (ILL) 6-0, 6-2 6 Sarah Andrews (MSU) def. Emily Wang (ILL) 7-5, 6-1
