April 29, 2000
The Northwestern University women's tennis team avenged an earlier loss to Illinois today with a, 4-1, victory at the Big Ten Championships to advance to the finals. The defending Big Ten champion Wildcats (21-4) earned their second straight championship appearance by winning the doubles point and taking three singles matches in straight sets.
Northwestern earned the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, while the match at No. 3 was suspended. Lia Jackson (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) and Marine Piriou (Ste. Pol-de-Leon, France/Ecole De Notre Dame) gained the first doubles victory for the Wildcats with an 8-4 win against Simone Kung and Michelle Webb at No. 2. Katherine Nasser (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) and Colleen Cheng (Hillsborough, Calif./Burlingame) secured the team point with an 8-6 victory over Brooke Ferney and Natascha Loebnitz at the No. 1 spot. The match at No. 3 was terminated after Northwestern claimed the required doubles wins.
The Wildcats advanced to the finals with victories at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5. Shannon Duffy (Plano,Texas/Plano) posted a 6-1, 6-2 win over Kung at No. 2, Jackson claimed a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Loebnitz at No. 4 and Piriou earned a 6-2, 6-3 win over Carla Rosenberg at No. 5. Ferney scored Illinois' only point in the match with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Cheng at No. 3 singles. The matches at No. 1 and No. 6 were stopped after Northwestern secured the winning margin.
The No. 3 seed Wildcats will face No. 4 seed Minnesota in the championship match Sunday at 11 a.m. (CDT). The Golden Gophers upset top seed Illinois 4-1 in the other semifinal.
Northwestern 4, Illinois 1
SINGLES
No. 1 Katherine Nasser (NU) vs. Eldina Fazlic (IL), abandoned
No. 2 Shannon Duffy (NU) def. Simone Kung, 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Brooke Ferney (IL) def. Colleen Cheng, 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 Lia Jackson (NU) def. Natascha Loebnitz, 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 Marine Piriou (NU) def. Carla Rosenberg, 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 Jennifer Lutgert (NU) vs. Natalia Manasova (IL), abandoned
DOUBLES
No. 1 Nasser/Cheng (NU) def. Ferney/Loebnitz, 8-6
No. 2 Jackson/Piriou (NU) def. Kung/Michelle Webb, 8-4
No. 3 Duffy/Leigh Weinraub (NU) vs. Manasova/Rosenberg (IL), abandoned