April 26, 2008

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Illinois women's tennis team, fresh off an upset of Ohio State in the quarterfinals, were unable to keep the momentum going as they faced and fell to the No. 1 Northwestern Wildcats, 4-0, today in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals in West Lafayette at the Schwartz Tennis Center. The Illini were never able to gain footing in the tough matchup, as they dropped the doubles point, and despite fights at all six singles spots, let three straight matches get away from them as they end their Big Ten postseason with a record of 12-10 overall. Northwestern improved to 25-1 with the victory. Illinois now awaits its NCAA Tournament fate when the selections are announced on ESPNews on Tuesday, April 29, at 2 p.m. CT.

"We can still take a lot out of this match," head coach Michelle Dasso said. "The first time that we played Northwestern, we were unable to take a set off them. But today, we were able to take two sets off the top-ranked team in the country. That just goes to show the amount of maturity and growth that this team has had over the course of the year. Freshman Marisa Lambropoulos and redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan both were fighting in their matches, with Marisa taking a set off Sam Murray, who is ranked No. 30 in the country. And then for Leigh to win the second set against No. 8-ranked Georgia Rose was amazing. I will say, a lot of credit goes to Northwestern and their coach Claire Pollard, who has done a great job of creating a nationally-ranked program year-end and year-out and are a very talented team this year."

While Northwestern only boasts one nationally ranked doubles duo at No. 1, the strength of its players on courts Nos. 2 and 3 proved to be too much as they scored quick wins, 8-5 and 8-3, respectively, at those spots to secure the doubles point and a 1-0 lead. While the damage had already been done, sophomore Megan Fudge and junior Shivani Davé (ILL) were holding their own against the 18th-ranked pair of Lauren Lui and Georgia Rose (NU) at one, but their match was abandoned with Fudge/Davé leading, 5-4, once the doubles point had been decided.

In singles, freshman Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL), who has won three straight heading into today, was on fire, taking a set off No. 30-ranked Sam Murray (NU) at No. 3 singles. Joining her was redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan, who has tallied two straight wins heading into today, as she had leveled her contest at No. 2 singles against No. 8-ranked Georgia Rose (NU) after losing the first set 6-1, and then battling back with a 6-4 win in the second.

However, the efforts were not enough to ignite a singles lineup for the Illini that has bulldozed opponents at times. Northwestern put the Illini away with three straight singles wins, tallying its first two on courts six and one before clinching their finals berth when Nazlie Ghazal (NU) took down sophomore Kristina Minor (ILL) at No. 5 singles, 6-3, 6-2.

"I feel like with a win against Ohio State and a solid showing against Northwestern, we put ourselves into a good spot for an NCAA Tournament berth," Dasso said. "With Ohio State ranked ahead of us, we did what we could to make our best case for an at-large bid. Of course, the final word will have to wait until Tuesday when the teams are selected."

#43 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS vs. #1 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
4/26/2008 AT WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. (SCHWARTZ TENNIS CENTER)
NORTHWESTERN 4, ILLINOIS 0

Singles competition
1. #4 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. Megan Fudge (ILL) - 6-2, 6-2
2. #8 Georgia Rose (NU) vs. Leigh Finnegan (ILL) - 6-1, 4-6 UF
3. #30 Sam Murray (NU) vs. Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL) - 2-6, 6-1, 1-2 UF
4. #50 Lauren Lui (NU) vs. Shivani Davé (ILL) - 6-4, 5-2 UF
5. Nazlie Ghazal (NU) def. Kristina Minor (ILL) - 6-3, 6-2
6. Suzie Matzenauer (NU) def. Momei Qu (ILL) - 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. #18 Lauren Lui / Georgia Rose (NU) vs. Shivani Davé / Megan Fudge (ILL) 4-5 UF
2. Suzie Matzenauer / Sam Murray (NU) def. Leigh Finnegan / Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL) 8-5
3. Nazlie Ghazal / Maria Mosolova (NU) def. Annie McCarthy / Kristina Minor (ILL) 8-3

Match Notes:
University of Illinois 12-10, 7-3 Big Ten; National ranking #43
Northwestern University 25-1, 6-4 Big Ten; National ranking #1
Order of Finish: Doubles: (2, 3); Singles: (6, 5, 1)