May 25, 2004
ATHENS, Ga.--Third-ranked Cristelle Grier (Epsom, England/Putney) continued her strong play at the NCAA Championships, winning both her singles and doubles matches in the Round of 32. She will be joined tomorrow by her 44th-ranked doubles partner Jessica Rush (Dallas, Texas/The Hockaday School), who was halted in her singles match.
Against North Carolina's 21st-ranked Aniela Mojzis, Grier cruised to a 6-0 win in the first set before finding herself trailing in the second. Fortunately, the No. 8 seed rallied to net a 6-4 decision and beat Mojzis for the second time this season.
Grier (39-4), who surpassed her own record for season wins at Northwestern, will go head-to-head against Arizona's No. 11 Dianne Hollands, the No. 9-16 seed, at 9 a.m. (CT) Wednesday. Hollands lost to Grier 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinal round of the ITA National Indoor Championships back in November.
"I think what is great is that Grier still continues to improve," said head coach Claire Pollard. "She has met the challenge of replicating last year's success."
In her Round of 32 match, Rush fought hard to force a third set against Brigham Young's 36th-ranked Barbara Zahnova, but in the end she lost 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 to conclude her run in the singles tournament. The senior finishes with a 34-10 record-her most wins ever-in her final year at NU.
"Jessica played her opponent tough and fought all the way to the end," said Pollard. "I am happy that at least she will continue in doubles tomorrow."
As a pair, third-ranked Grier and Rush churned out a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Georgia's 12th-ranked Agata Cioroch and Shadisha Robinson to improve to 2-1 against the Bulldog tandem this year and advance to the Round of 16 for the first time.
The triumph improved Grier and Rush's already phenomenal record to 40-5; the previous high for doubles wins at Northwestern was 26. They will next face Clemson's 13th-ranked Julie Coin and Maria Brito, although no time has been determined yet.