April 16, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - Audra Cohen (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) has etched her name in Northwestern's record books... again. The freshman notched her 40th win of the year Saturday afternoon in the Wildcats' 6-1 victory over Purdue, tying the single-season school record set a year ago by Cristelle Grier (Epsom, England/Putney).
"It's nice to hit that mark so early in my career here," Cohen said. "But it's just a number. We have a lot more to do as a team this season."
It was not all puppy dogs and ice cream en route to the magical number 40 though. Boilermaker Hala Sufi made Cohen work for it. They were the last two off the court at Vandy Christie Tennis Center. In the first set, Cohen fought back from a 5-4 deficit to eventually edge Sufi in the tiebreak, 7-2, to take the set. She then closed the second set out 6-3, ensuring herself a piece of the single-season record.
The win improves the `Cats to 19-2 on the year and 8-0 in the Big Ten.
Cohen's singles victory was one of five straight-set wins for the `Cats.
Sophomore Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and junior Grier finished first and second, respectively, as each notched her 12th-consecutive singles win. Prousis improves to 29-7, 18-3 in duals and will get a shot at 30 wins tomorrow against Illinois.
Valerie Vladea (Tiffin, Iowa/Burlington Central) wrapped up her match at No. 4 next, 6-2, 6-0. Boilermaker Brooke Beier twisted her ankle early in the second set, but finished the match.
Cohen, Grier, Prousis and Vladea are all undefeated in Big Ten competition.
Senior Andrea Yung (San Marino, Calif./San Marino) kicked off her last weekend of home competition exactly how you'd want to. She continued her hot streak by winning easily at No. 5, 6-2, 6-2. Yung is undefeated since dual competition began back in January. She is 18-4 overall, 9-0 in duals and 5-0 in the Big Ten.
Before singles action, Northwestern swept the doubles point for the 11th time this season. Cohen and Grier improved their winning streak to 14 at No. 1, while Feriel Esseghir (Sarasota, Fla./Brickhouse Academy) and Vladea won their fourth in a row at No. 3. Both doubles teams beat the Boilermakers by a 8-1 count.
Their quick wins contrasted Prousis and senior Kristi Roemer's nip-and-tuck battle against Sufi and Beier at No. 2. Down 5-4, Roemer landed her specialty -- a slicing drop shot that the Boilermakers had no chance at -- to tie things back up at 5-5. Prousis then held serve to extend that lead to 6-5. After Purdue tied it back up at 6-6, Prousis showed some ridiculous reflexes at the net to get the `Cats back on top, 7-6. Sufi and Beier weren't going away though. The duo tied it at 7-7, pushing the match to a tiebreak. There, the Wildcats completed the doubles sweep with a 7-4 win.
Northwestern returns to action at 11 a.m. Sunday, April 17 against Illinois. Head Coach Claire Pollard and the `Cats will honor seniors Roemer and Yung before the last home match of their careers.
"We have to take care of business tomorrow," Pollard said. "Illinois is a tough team that is going to come in here really fired up. I want to send our seniors out the right way."
#3 Northwestern 6, #50 Purdue 1
Doubles
No. 1 - #1 Cohen/Grier (NU) def. Burgarello/Zuccarini (PUR), 8-1
No. 2 - #36 Prousis/Roemer (NU) def. Sufi/Beier (PUR), 8-7 (4)
No. 3 - Vladea/Esseghir (NU) def. Rodriguez/Wooten (PUR), 8-1
Singles
No. 1 - #3 Audra Cohen (NU) def. #99 Hala Sufi (PUR), 7-6 (2), 6-3
No. 2 - #16 Cristelle Grier (NU) def. Stephanie Wooten (PUR), 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 - #66 Alexis Prousis (NU) def. Shawna Zuccarini (PUR), 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 - Valerie Vladea (NU) def. Brooke Beier (PUR), 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 - Andrea Yung (NU) def. Alyssa Rodriguez (PUR), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 - Amy Walgenbach (PUR) def. Alexis Conill (NU), 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish for doubles: 3, 1, 2
Order of finish for singles: 3, 2, *4, 5, 6, 1
* denotes clincher