Jan. 21, 2008
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
| Betsy Kuhl Varsity I Ceremony
URBANA, Ill. - The Illinois women's tennis team battled until the last point against No. 62-ranked Western Michigan, but a straight-sets victory on court three for the Broncos gave them a slim 4-3 victory over the Illini today at the Atkins Tennis Center. While the Orange and Blue dropped their first match of the season, sophomore Megan Fudge continued her strong play in singles, as she improved to a perfect 3-0 in duals with her win over No. 98 Kerstin Pahl at No. 1 singles.
"First and foremost, I'd like to thank the fans for coming out today and supporting us," head coach Michelle Dasso said. "Their energy was huge when we were down and it definitely was a force in helping us fight back. However, I wasn't pleased with how we got down so fast in our doubles and singles matches, but it was great to see our girls fight until the end. I definitely thought we had a chance today and let the win slip through our fingers."
The afternoon started out with a tense battle for the doubles point between the two squads. Western Michigan ran out to a quick lead on court two, as Pahl and Emily Dudzik (WMU) held the advantage over freshmen Marisa Lambropoulos and Annie McCarthy (ILL), 3-0, in the early goings. From there, Lambropoulos and McCarthy battled back, but the effort came up short in the 8-6 loss.
On court one, the duo of Fudge and redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan (ILL) came out sluggish as well, falling behind an early break to trail 3-0. However, easing into the contest, the pair returned to form to even the match en route to breaking on Western Michigan's final service game to take the tilt, 9-7. With the doubles point resting on the No. 3 slot, sophomore Kristina Minor and junior Shivani Davé were in a back-and-forth affair with Priyanka Parekh and Noriko Saruta. Down the stretch, the Bronco duo stole a late break at 7-all before serving out the match, 9-7, to claim the doubles point for WMU.
In singles, the Illini had their work cut out for them from the beginning, working from behind in a dual for the second straight match. Senior Momei Qu (ILL) looked to right the ship for the Illini from the start, losing just two games in her 6-1, 6-1 victory over Ashley Moccia (WMU) on court five. From there, Western Michigan applied the pressure with back-to-back wins at Nos. 2 and 4 to take a 3-1 lead on the afternoon.
From there, Illinois stormed back to tie the match 3-3, as Davé scored a win over Amanda Moccia (WMU) on court six with a pair of 6-3 set victories. Fudge then improved to a perfect 3-0 in duals this season when she overcame No. 98-ranked Pahl (WMU), 6-2, 6-2, at No. 1 singles.
"It's great to see Megan at 3-0," Dasso said "It's awesome to see her gain confidence after each match. You can always count on Megan, she's a fighter and she's going to go out there and give it everything she has. She's playing some good tennis right now and I think it's only going to get better."
From there, the fans then threw all of their excitement and anticipation over court three where Lambropoulos (ILL) and the Broncos' Saruta were in a heated battle. Saruta claimed the opening set 7-5 in a highly contested frame before taking a 5-1 lead in the second. Lambropoulos (ILL), however, had a lot more fight in her as she reclaimed a break and held serve to come within two, 5-3. In Saruta's (WMU) final service game, the Bronco upped her game as she came to net on three of her four winners, volleying to a 7-5, 6-3, victory to give Western Michigan the 4-3 match win.
The Illini return to action when they take on the No. 22-ranked University of Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, Jan. 26, at 11 a.m. CT, noon local time, in Knoxville, Tenn. The match will be the Fighting Illini's second contest on the road this season, while also marking the first of two road matches in-a-row for Illinois, who then travels to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on Florida State on Feb. 3. The Illini's next home match is on Feb. 8, when they take on DePaul for a 6 p.m. match at the Atkins Tennis Center.
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY 4, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 3
1/21/2008 AT URBANA, ILL. (ATKINS TENNIS CENTER)
Singles competition
1. Megan Fudge (ILL) def. #98 Kerstin Pahl (WMU), 6-2, 6-2
2. Priyanka Parekh (WMU) def. Leigh Finnegan (ILL), 6-3, 6-0
3. Noriko Saruta (WMU) def. Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL), 7-5, 6-3
4. Yumi Matsuto (WMU) def. Kristina Minor (ILL), 6-3, 6-3
5. Momei Qu (ILL) vs. Ashley Moccia (WMU), 6-1, 6-1
6. Shivani Davé (ILL) vs. Amanda Moccia (WMU), 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Megan Fudge / Leigh Finnegan (ILL) def. Ashley Moccia / Yumi Matsuto (WMU), 9-7
2. Kerstin Pahl / Emily Dudzik (WMU) def. Marisa Lambropoulos / Annie McCarthy (ILL), 8-6
3. Priyanka Parekh / Noriko Saruta (WMU) def. Kristina Minor / Shivani Davé (ILL), 9-7
Match Notes
University of Illinois 2-1, 0-0 Big Ten
Western Michigan University 1-1
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3); Singles (5, 2, 4, 6, 1, 3)
