Feb. 10, 2006
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The 49th-ranked Illinois women's tennis team finished the first of their two matches against top-25 opponents on Friday afternoon. The Illini were defeated by No. 19 William and Mary, 7-0, at the McCormack-Nagelson Tennis Center.
"I'm a little frustrated because I felt like we were in it to the end," Coach Lama said. "Today was a good example of the difference between expecting to win and hoping to win. I felt like we played with the mindset that we were hoping to win. We are a young team and that is part of the maturation process. Pretty soon we'll get over that mental hurdle."
The loss drops Illinois' record to 4-2 while the Tribe improves to 6-1 with all six wins coming by shutout and have now won 22 straight at home.
W&M moved through the doubles matches, starting with an 8-1 win on the second court. Alejandra Meza Cuadra (Lima, Peru) and Brianna Knue (Western Springs, Ill.) fell to Lauren Cash and Megan Muth. The Tribe secured the doubles point behind the play of Emmy Fritz-Krockow and Barbara Zidek who defeated Shivani Davé (Concord, Mass.) and Momei Qu (Portland, Ore.), 8-4. Macall Harkins (Verdes Estates, Calif.) and Emily Wang (Lawrence, Kan.) provided a tough battle at No. 1 doubles, but they couldn't top 2005 doubles All-American Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic. William and Mary's No. 1 team has a history together, winning the doubles title at the Argentina Bowl and finishing second at the Banana Bowl (Brazil) in the spring of 2003.
The Tribe continued to roll in singles, but the Illini put up a fight, extending three matches into the third set. The Green and Gold got their second point at No. 4 with Cash's 6-2, 6-0 win over Wang and Fritz-Krockow provided the third point with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Davé at No. 5. Muth provided the match clincher with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Qu at court two.
Although the match was clinched, Harkins wasn't going to let down against the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year and ITA East Region Rookie of the Year. Harkins took the first set, 6-4, but Moulton-Levy took the next two sets, 6-4, 1-0(8). Knue also went three sets with 50th-ranked Zoricic but lost 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. The match wrapped up on the sixth court as Zidek defeated Meza Cuadra 7-5, 3-6, 1-0(9).
The Illini will travel up the coast to Winston-Salem, N.C. where they will face No. 23 Wake Forest on Sunday at noon.
#19 William and Mary 7, #49 Illinois 0
Singles
1. #11 Megan Moulton-Levy (W&M) def. Macall Harkins; 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8)
2. Megan Muth (W&M) def. Momei Qu; 6-4, 6-2
3. #50 Katarina Zoricic (W&M) def. Brianna Knue; 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
4. Lauren Cash (W&M) def. Emily Wang; 6-2, 6-0
5. Emmy Fritz-Krockow (W&M) def. Shivani Davé; 6-0, 6-3
6. Barbara Zidek (W&M) def. Alejandro Meza Cuadra; 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (11-9)
Order of finish: 4, 5, 2, 1, 3, 6
Doubles 1. Moulton-Levy (W&M) def. Harkins/Wang; 8-5 2. Cash/Muth (W&M) def. Cuadra/Knue; 8-1 3. Fritz-Krockow/Zidek (W&M) def. Davé/Qu; 8-4 Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
