Feb. 22, 2009
Box Score
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The No. 33 Illinois women's tennis team rolled to a 6-1 victory over the Boston College Eagles this morning in Chestnut, Mass. For the fifth match in a row, the Orange and Blue secured the doubles point and never looked back. In lone senior Shivani Davé's final homecoming, the Concord, Mass., native went a combined 4-0 over the weekend in front of her closest friends and family.
With the win, the Illini improve to 7-2 on the season, while the Eagles fall to 3-2.
"It's a great feeling to be on a five match winning streak," head coach Michelle Dasso said. "With each win, the girls are gaining more confidence. I definitely think our improved doubles play has been key. Grabbing the doubles point early on and securing the wins has gone hand-in-hand for us these last matches. Our schedule only gets tougher from here on out and hopefully we can carry this momentum into our Big Ten season in a couple weeks. I think a highlight from this weekend was the play of senior Shivani Davé. She rose to the occasion in front of her faithful fans and got the wins this weekend."
The hot hitting Illini started out strong in doubles, sweeping all matches for the early 1-0 advantage.
In singles, the Illini were almost unstoppable. Junior Megan Fudge maintained her unblemished dual record as she cruised to a straight sets victory over No. 96-ranked Lauren Cash, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 2 singles. Fudge is now 9-0 on the season in dual matches.
The Illini also picked up wins at Nos. 3,4 and 6 singles. At No. 3 singles, freshman Chelcie Abajian downed BC's Katarina Gajic 6-4, 6-4. Sophomore Marisa Lambropoulos added to the Illini total as she took a 6-0, 6-4 victory over the Eagles' Dasha Cherkasov at No. 4 singles. Davé, playing at No. 6 singles, polished off her opponent, Alina Sullivan in straights 6-2, 6-4. With the win, Davé is now 4-0 in dual matches this season.
With the match clinched, redshirt-sophomore Leigh Finnegan battled to victory at No. 1 singles for the Orange and Blue. After dropping the first set 6-7, Finnegan stormed back to take the second set, 6-3. In the super-tiebreaker, the Wilmington, Del., native edged out No. 118-ranked Lana Krasnopolsky, 10-8, for the win.
Illinois continues its road swing when it travels to Marquette on Saturday, Feb. 28. Match time is set for 11 a.m. CT.
Complete Results
#33 Illinois 6, Boston College 1
Feb. 22, 2009
Doubles competition
1) Chelcie Abajian / Leigh Finnegan (ILL) def. Lauren Cash / Dasha Cherkasov (BC) 8-4
2) Megan Fudge / Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL) def. Alina Sullivan / Katarina Gajic (BC) 8-4
3) Annie McCarthy / Shivani Davé (ILL) def. Lana Krasnopolsky / Katharine Attwell (BC) 8-5
Singles competition
1) Leigh Finnegan (ILL) def. #118 Lana Krasnopolsky (BC) 6-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)
2) Megan Fudge (ILL) def. #96 Lauren Cash (BC) 6-1, 6-0
3) Chelcie Abajian (ILL) def. Katarina Gajic (BC) 6-4, 6-4
4) Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL) def. Dasha Cherkasov (BC) 6-0, 6-4
5) Katharine Attwell (BC) def. Kristina Minor (ILL) 6-3, 6-4
6) Shivani Davé (ILL) def. Alina Sullivan (BC) 6-2, 6-4
