Feb. 23, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's sixth-ranked women's tennis team heads to the Tar Heel state this weekend to take on a pair of top-10 opponents in No. 10 North Carolina and No. 8 Duke. The 'Cats are slated to take on the Tarheels at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 and the Blue Demons at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26. The Wildcats have three players ranked in the latest ITA FILA singles rankings -- No. 10 Cristelle Grier (Epsom, England/Putney), No. 15 Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and No. 36 Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day).
The Wildcats enter this weekend riding a six-match winning streak, with five of those wins versus ranked opponents. Northwestern has taken the doubles point in all but one match this season and has dropped only nine total singles and doubles matches during its streak.
The 'Cats have boasted a combination of stellar doubles and singles play this season. At No. 1 doubles, NU's fifth-ranked team of Grier and Prousis has confounded opponents this year, leading them to a 3-1 dual mark and a 15-3 record overall.
The Wildcats' 46th-ranked doubles team of Grier and Rose has also been impressive this spring, as the team has posted a 2-2 record at No. 1, including an 8-1 win over Kentucky's 35th-ranked team of Joelle Schwenk and Kim Coventry.
Nazlie Ghazal (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) and Jamie Peisel (Savannah, Ga./Savannah Country Day) have been crucial to the Wildcats' success this spring, as the doubles tandem has posted a 6-1 record at the No. 3 doubles spot, including wins in their last six appearances.
Rose and Feriel Esseghir (Sarasota, Fla./Brickhouse Academy) have been another combination head coach Claire Pollard has been using as of late, proving why Pollard is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year. The duo has posted a 3-0 record at No. 2 doubles this season and has won its last four matches by a combined score of 32-4.
Grier, a senior All-American, has seen the most time at No. 1 singles this year. Ranked No. 10 in the most recent ITA FILA rankings, Grier is 4-0 at No. 1 and is on a nine-match winning streak. She is 22-7 overall this year.
Prousis has also compiled an impressive spring record, going 6-2 overall and a combined 5-0 at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles position. Prousis has taken victories in each of her last five singles matches and is 23-7 on the year.
Rose, who is just getting her first taste of college tennis this year, has come out and blown away the competition. In only her freshman season, she has already earned a No. 36 singles ranking and is a combined 8-0 in dual matches, playing at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 position. She has been on a roll, winning in each of her last 12 singles matches and has won in straight sets in all but one of those matches.
North Carolina enters the match at 9-2 and has won two-straight matches after taking a 5-2 win over Texas A&M and a 7-0 decision over Elon last weekend. The Tarheels have three singles players ranked in the ITA FILA poll. Jenna Long sits at the No. 21 spot, Caitlin Collins falls in at No. 56 and Sara Anundsen garnered a No. 62 ranking. In doubles action, North Carolina has three duos appearing in the polls. Long and Anundsen at No. 10, Collins and Laura Reichert are ranked 47th and the freshmen duo of Meg Fanjoy and Austin Smith rose to No. 48. The Wildcats are 3-7 all-time versus the Tarheels.
Duke enters the match with a 4-2 record and is coming off a 4-3 loss to William & Mary that came down to the third set of the final singles match.
The Blue Devils are led by junior Daniela Bercek, who is ranked the No. 2 singles player in the country. Duke has two other ranked singles players, as Jackie Carleton has garnered a No. 34 ranking and freshman Tara Ayer is slated at No. 57.
In doubles competition, Bercek and Jessi Robinson combine for the nation's sixth-ranked doubles team, while Jennifer Zika and Melisssa Mang are ranked No. 45. Northwestern is 2-8 all-time versus the Blue Devils.
Live scoring of the matches will be available through each host team's respective athletics website.
Following this weekend, Northwestern returns to action when it travels to Atlanta to face No. 5 Georgia Tech at noon Saturday, March 4.