Oct. 1, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern women's tennis team won two flight titles this weekend at the Eck Classic, which was hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
Senior Colleen Cheng (Hillsborough, Calif./Burlingame) sailed through the Flight A singles bracket to claim the title, defeating teammate Lia Jackson (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) in the championship match. Cheng downed Jackson, 6-2, 6-0. In Flight D singles, freshman Jessica Rush (Ottawa, Ont./The Hockaday School) worked her way through the bracket to take the title, defeating Iowa's Jennifer Hodgman in the final, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Although competing individually at this tournament, the team was successful in its first outing of the fall season. Sophomore Marine Piriou (Ste. Pol-De-Leon, France/Ecole De Notre Dame) finished second in the Flight B singles, falling to Laura Garcia of Marquette, 6-0, 6-4. Junior transfer Simona Petrutiu (Constanta, Romania/Southern Illinois) finished ninth in her first outing as a Wildcat. In Flight C singles, freshman Ruth Barnes (Cambridge, England/Hills Road Sixth Form College) finished seventh, and in Flight D singles freshman Stacy Kokx (West Bloomfield, Mich./Marian) finished fourth.
In doubles action, Barnes and Cheng teamed up to finish third with an 8-2 win over Wisconsin's Gabler and Mues in Flight A. Senior Shannon Duffy (Plano, Texas/Plano) and Jackson paired for Flight B doubles, and took third place with an 8-3 win over Marquette's Garcia-Briseno and Garcia.
The 'Cats are back in action October 14-15 at the All-Americans pre-qualifying tournament in Los Angeles.