Illinois Just Short of Upsetting No. 29 Indiana

Women's Tennis April 12, 2008

Illinois Just Short of Upsetting No. 29 Indiana

April 12, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The University of Illinois women's tennis team was on the heels of one of its best upsets of the season, but a feisty singles lineup for the No. 29 Indiana Hoosiers proved to be the difference as the Hoosiers managed a 4-3 victory today in Bloomington at the IU Varsity Tennis Courts. The Illini, who won the doubles point for only the fifth time all season with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, could not hold onto the lead in singles, as IU stole four of the six singles matches to take the league dual. With the loss, Illinois dropped to 8-9 overall and 4-3 in conference action, while the Hoosiers improved to 17-5 overall, 6-1 in conference affairs.

"It was a great college dual match today and I could not be more proud of the girls," head coach Michelle Dasso said. "We left everything we had out there on the courts today. We went toe-to-toe with a good team in the Big Ten, and the singles match at No. 4 just didn't go our way. I am very proud of how we fought out there, coming out so strong to win the doubles point and put ourselves in the position to win the match at the end."

Illinois could not have asked for a better start to the day, as they scored the doubles point with wins on courts Nos. 1 and 2. Redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan and freshman Marisa Lambropoulos started the Illini push, as they rolled through on court two with an 8-6 victory over Lindsey Stuckey and Alba Berdala (IND). Indiana evened the score with a win on court three, but it would not slow Illinois down. With the attention shifted to court one, junior Shivani Davé and sophomore Megan Fudge clinched the point with their 9-7 victory.

With the match in Illinois' hands at 1-0, the Hoosiers began their comeback as they quickly evened the score with a win on court six, and then took the lead with another victory on court three. Indiana drew one win away from the comeback after sealing a straight-sets triumph on court two, but sophomore Kristina Minor (ILL) slowed down the Hoosiers as she upended Stuckey (IND), 7-6, 6-2, at No. 5 singles.

And then when you thought the Illini were down and out, Fudge (ILL) revived the Illini's chances as she steam rolled through Berdala (IND) at No. 1 singles, winning 6-4, 7-5, to even the match at 3-all.

With all eyes on court four, Davé (ILL) could had pushed her match to a third set but fell short of collecting the final victory for Illinois, as she dropped her match, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, to Sigrid Fischer (IND) to give Indiana the 4-3 win.

"You are never happy when a dual match that is that close doesn't go your way," Dasso continued, "but we are going to put this loss behind us and get ready for another match against Ohio State on Sunday. We will definitely learn form the little things during this match, but will not dwell on the loss. We will be ready to go again on Sunday."

Illinois now finishes its Big Ten road trip by traveling to Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State on Sunday, April 13. The match is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start at the OSU Varsity Tennis Courts, and can be followed through live scoring at www.fightingillini.com.

Illinois does not return home until April 19-20, when it hosts Senior Weekend for seniors Qu and Alejandra Meza Cuadra, with Minnesota (April 19) and Iowa (April 20) both in town for the match festivities.

#29 INDIANA UNIVERSITY 4, #58 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 3
4/12/2008 AT BLOOMINGTON, IND. (IU VARSITY TENNIS COURTS)

Singles competition
1. Megan Fudge (ILL) def. Alba Berdala (IND) - 6-4, 7-5
2. Katya Zapadalova (IND) def. Leigh Finnegan (ILL) - 7-6(), 6-2
3. Charlotte Martin (IND) def. Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL) - 6-3, 6-3
4. Sigrid Fischer (IND) def. Shivani Davé (ILL) - 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
5. Kristina Minor (ILL) def. Lindsey Stuckey - 7-6 (), 6-2
6. Brianna Williams (IND) def. Momei Qu (ILL) - 6-2, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Megan Fudge / Shivani Davé (ILL) def. Brianna Williams / Katya Zapadalova (IND) - 9-7
2. Marisa Lambropoulos / Leigh Finnegan (ILL) def. Lindsey Stuckey / Alba Berdala (IND) - 8-6
3. Myriam Sopel / Sigrid Fischer (IND) def. Annie McCarthy / Kristina Minor (ILL) - 9-8

Match Notes
University of Illinois: 8-9, 4-3 Big Ten; National Ranking - 58
Penn State University: 17-5, 6-1 Big Ten; National Ranking - 29
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3, 1); Singles (6, 3, 2, 5, 1, 4)

* Tiebreaker scores were not available at time of release *

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