Jan. 18, 2003
EVANSTON - In an highly anticipated match with the Duke Blue Devils (1-0), the Wildcats (1-1) could not muster enough emotional energy to sustain the win before falling 5-2 to the nation's fourth-ranked team this afternoon at the Combe Tennis Center.
Duke jumped out to a 1-0 lead, winning the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3. Northwestern's top tandem of Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush knocked off Kelly McCain and Hillary Adams-the 13th-ranked duo in the nation-8-5.
Northwestern picked up the intensity in singles, matching up well against some of the nation's top players. Duke's No. 1 singles player, McCain, suffered an injury during doubles and was unable to play the singles portion of the match. With McCain out, NU's Grier was pitted against Amanda Johnson. Grier dominated the first set, taking a commanding 5-0 lead before allowing Johnson to win a game. Grier went on to win the first set 6-1. Johnson's battled back, but Grier proved to be too much, as she won in straight sets (6-4), giving NU its first point of the match.
Straight-set wins at Nos. 5 and gave Duke a 3-1 lead. Northwestern battled at Nos. 2 and 3, but could not pull out third-set victories for the much needed points. Rush, at No. 2, fell to Katie Blaszak, 6-1, 2-6, 3-6. Jamie Peisel lost to Julie DeRoo, 7-5, 2-6, 2-6 at No. 3. Andrea Yung, playing at No. 4, picked up NU's second point of the match with a come-from-behind win. Yung lost the first set 7-6, but rallied to win the second set, 7-6, forcing and winning a tiebreaker (10-4) for the point.
The 'Cats fall to 1-1 on the season and are next in action on January 25 when they travel to the University of Washington. Match time is set for 9 a.m. CST.
#12 Northwestern vs. #4 Duke DUKE 5, NU 2
SINGLES
No.1 Cristelle Grier (NU) def. Amanda Johnson (DU) 6-1, 6-4
No.2 Katie Blaszak (DU) def. Jessica Rush (NU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
No.3 Julie DeRoo (DU) def. Jamie Peisel (NU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
No.4 Andrea Yung (NU) def. Saras Arasu (DU) 6-7, 7-6, 10-4
No.5 Katie Granson (DU) def. Ruth Barnes (NU) 7-5, 6-0
No.6 Julia Smith (DU) def. Stacy Kokx (NU) 6-4, 6-1
DOUBLES
No.1 Rush/Grier(NU) def. McCain/Hillary Adams (DU) 8-5
No.2 DeRoo/Johnson (DU) def. Peisel/Kokx (NU) 8-2
No.3 Granson/Smith (DU) def. Barnes/Yung (NU) 8-4