Feb. 9, 2007
Results
URBANA, Ill. - The Illinois women's tennis team came up short against the visiting Tribe of William & Mary tonight at the Atkins Tennis Center, dropping the match 6-1. Junior Alejandra Meza Cuadra highlighted the effort as she continued to roll in singles, winning her second straight match in dual play with her 7-6(3), 7-5 victory over Barbara Zidek (W&M).
The night had a feeling of what-if for the Illini, who saw spots of brilliance at both doubles and singles. At one time in the match, Illinois was down 3-0 but not out, as Meza-Cuadra had a lead in her match at No. 5 singles, while sophomore Shivani Davé at No. 2 singles, freshman Kristina Minor at No. 4 singles and senior Emily Wang at No. 6 singles all stared at opportunities to send their matches into third sets. However, the Tribe was able to capitalize on Illinois' mistakes to close the door on the would-be come-back.
To kick off the night, William & Mary opened strong to sweep the doubles matches. At No. 2 doubles, the pair of Davé and Meza Cuadra (ILL) were rolling early in their match against Magdalena Bresson and Ragini Acharya (W&M), breaking and holding serve to jump out to a 2-0 lead. The Tribe pair, however, was able to fight back en route to taking the match, 8-4. At No. 1 and 3 doubles, Illinois could never impose their games and get into a rhythm, as Wang and sophomore Bryce Marable (ILL) fell 8-1 to the No. 1-ranked pair of Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic (W&M), while junior Momei Qu and Minor dropped their contest to Lauren Sabacinski and Zidek (W&M), 8-3.
At No. 1-3 singles, the Tribe applied early pressure with victories at each position, leading to a quick 3-0 advantage for William & Mary in the dual. At the top-spot of the lineup, No. 5 Moulton-Levy (W&M) bettered Qu (ILL) 6-0, 6-0, while Marable (ILL) dropped her contest 6-3, 6-2 to Acharya. (W&M).
With the match on the line from there-on-out, Meza Cuadra started the charge for Illinois at No. 5 singles. Though she fell behind early, Meza Cuadra quickly regained her composure, breaking back to send the opening frame against Zidek to a tiebreak. There, the Lima, Peru native cruised to a 7-6(3) victory. In the second, Meza Cuadra kept the match in control from beginning to end, prevailing 7-5.
Despite the Illini having chances to get back into the match, William and Mary clinched the win with a victory at No. 6 singles. In that match, Wang (ILL) played tough in the second set, but the push came too late as she dropped her match to Sabacinski 6-3, 7-5.
Showing continual improvement as the season has progressed; Minor (ILL) came up just short in both of her sets against Bresson at No. 4 singles. In the first, Minor matched swing for swing against her Tribe opponent, but a late-set hiccup handed Bresson the break and the opening frame, 7-6(3). In the second, Minor kept the match level at 5-5, but again tossed in a string of untimely errors to fall late in the frame, 7-5.
The Illini will return to action when the host top-ranked Georgia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 11 a.m. at the Atkins Tennis Center.
Tennis Match Results
William & Mary vs. Illinois
Urbana, Ill.
#25 William & Mary 6, Illinois 1
Singles competition
1. #5 Megan Moulton-Levy (WM) def. Momei Qu (ILL) 6-0, 6-0
2. #68 Katarina Zoricic (WM) def. Shivani Davé (ILL) 6-3, 6-3
3. Regini Acharya (WM) def. Bryce Marable (ILL) 6-3, 6-2
4. Magdalena Bresson (WM) def. Kristina Minor (ILL) 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
5. Alejandra Meza Cuadra (ILL) def. Barbara Zidek (WM) 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
6. Lauren Sabacinski (WM) def. Emily Wang (ILL) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #1 Megan Moulton-Levy/Katarina Zoricic (WM) def. Emily Wang/Bryce Marable (ILL) 8-1
2. Magdalena Bresson/Regini Acharya (WM) def. Shivani Davé/Alejandra Meza Cuadra (ILL) 8-4
3. Lauren Sabacinski/Barbara Zidek (WM) def. Kristina Minor/Momei Qu (ILL) 8-3
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3, 2); Singles (1, 3, 6, 2, 4, 5)
