March 19, 2008

Box Score |  Puerto Rico Trip 

PALMAS-HUMACAO, Puerto Rico - The No. 55-ranked Illinois women's tennis team dropped a close contest today against the Princeton Tigers, 4-3, at the Villas in Palmas-Humacao in Puerto Rico today. The Illini, who were coming off their highest ranking in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) polls (3/18) since they were tabbed No. 53 at the end of the 2006 season, could not overcome a feisty Tiger team that swept the doubles and then claimed three wins in singles to get past the Orange and Blue. Senior Momei Qu, junior Shivani Davé and sophomore Megan Fudge all did not leave empty handed though, as they took home victories at their respective singles positions to keep Illinois in the match until the end.

"Overall, I am not happy with the way we came out and performed today," head coach Michelle Dasso said. "Good job by those girls who took care of business on their courts, but overall, we are very disappointed with the loss."

With the loss, Illinois dropped to 5-6 on the year, while Princeton improved to 7-6 in 2008.

In the morning match that kicked off at 9 a.m. CT, Illinois could not get their footing early, as the Tigers were able to secure wins on all three doubles courts. Princeton clinched the doubles point when Fudge and redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan (ILL) were handed an 8-4 setback at No. 1 doubles by Taylor Marable and Rebecca Parks (Princeton).

In singles, it was a seesaw of a match the rest of the way, with Princeton padding its lead to start off with a win on court No. 2. From there, Fudge (ILL) responded with one her best matches of the year, a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 75 Melissa Saiontz (Princeton) at the No. 1 singles slot. However, Illinois' momentum was halted again as the Tigers moved just one win away from the dual victory after another crucial win on court three to make the score 3-1.

Qu (ILL) then left little doubt that the Orange and Blue netters were going without a fight, as she put the finishing touches on a 6-4, 6-1 win on court five to bring Illinois just two-wins from the come-from-behind victory, down 2-3.

However, luck was not on Illinois' side, as Princeton clinched the match just minutes later as Sarah Hoffman (Princeton) overcame sophomore Kristina Minor (ILL) at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-3, to give the Tigers the win. Davé (ILL) closed out the match with a pair of 6-4 set wins over Parks (Princeton) to make the final score, 4-3, in favor of the Tigers.

The Illini now finish the rest of their training trip in Puerto Rico before returning to the states to jump right back into Big Ten Conference play against Michigan State on Sunday, March 23, with an 11 a.m. match scheduled in East Lansing, Mich. You can follow the match through live scoring by visiting the official home of Illinois women's tennis, fightingillini.com, and clicking on the women's tennis schedule.

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY 4, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 3
3/19/2008 AT PALMAS-HUMACAO, PUERTO RICO (VILLAS)

Singles competition
1. Megan Fudge (ILL) def. #75 Melissa Saiontz (Princeton) - 6-3 6-4
2. Ivana King (Princeton) def. Leigh Finnegan (ILL) - 6-4, 6-0
3. Taylor Marable (Princeton) def. Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL)- 6-3, 6-4
4. Shivani Dave' (ILL) def. Rebecca Parks (Princeton) - 6-4, 6-4
5. Momei Qu (ILL) def. Sarah Huah (Princeton) - 6-4, 6-1
6. Sarah Hoffman (Princeton) def. Kristina Minor (ILL) - 6-2, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Rebecca Parks / Taylor Marable (Princeton) def. Leigh Finnegan / Megan Fudge (ILL) - 8-4
2. Ivana King / Sarah Huah (Princeton) def. Shivani Davé / Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL) - 8-5
3. Sarah Hoffman / Melissa Saiontz (Princeton) def. Annie McCarthy / Alejandra Meza Cuadra (ILL) - 8-1

Match Notes
University of Illinois 5-6, 1-0 Big Ten; National Ranking - 55
Princeton University 7-6,
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (2, 1, 3, 5, 6, 4)