Postmatch Quotes
Download Free Acrobat Reader
May 12, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's ninth-ranked women's tennis team began its quest for the national title Friday in dominating fashion, easily disposing of Illinois-Chicago, 4-0. The Wildcats took a pair of 8-0 wins in doubles, then quickly tallied three singles victories to clinch the match. NU now faces No. 43 Purdue in the regional final at noon on Saturday, May 13..
"I thought UIC did a great job of coming out and competing hard," head coach Claire Pollard said. "We had to play well and I was happy with the way we sustained a good level out there and it was a little bit more than UIC was able to handle. I'm glad we were able to start out with a great win and now we can rest up and see who we play tomorrow."
Northwestern began the day by easily winning a pair of doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead.
The 'Cats' 11th-ranked team of Cristelle Grier (Epsom, England/Putney) and Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) was the first to notch a win on the day. The two broke Illinois-Chicago's team of Callan Smith and Corey Steven four times en route to an 8-0 shutout win at the No. 1 spot.
NU's Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) and Feriel Esseghir (Sarasota, Fla./Brickhouse Academy) then clinched the doubles point for the Wildcats as they shut out UIC's Iris Jaklin and Christina Oum at No. 2 doubles, 8-0.
At No. 3, Nazlie Ghazal (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) and Jamie Peisel (Savannah, Ga./Savannah Country Day) had their match abandoned once Northwestern clinched the doubles point. The duo led UIC's team of Molly Smith and Grace Gill-Morlis 6-2.
Following the 10-minute break, the 'Cats took the court once again and picked up right where they left off.
All six Wildcats took early leads and the match was decided less than two hours from first serve.
While Northwestern boasts three ranked players from the No. 1 through No. 3 singles spots, it was the bottom of the lineup that came through Friday.
Peisel put the Wildcats up 2-0 as she topped Molly Smith 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4.
Moments later, Ghazal extended Northwestern's lead to 3-0 as she shut out Oum 6-0, 6-0. Ghazal now stands at 34-7 and has won her last 16 matches.
Esseghir then clinched the match for NU with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 5. She topped Gill-Morlis to win her sixth match in seven tries and give the 'Cats a 4-0 win.
The Wildcats return to action verssus Purdue. The Wildcats face the Boilermakers at noon Saturday, May 13 at either the Vandy Christie Tennis Center or Combe Tennis Center, weather dependent.
"It's do or die now," Pollard said. "There aren't any second chances now, so you have to be ready every time you step on the court. We hope we'll have a good crowd and use that home court advantage."
Tennis Match Results Illinois-Chicago vs Northwestern May 12, 2006 at Evanston, Ill.#9 Northwestern 4, Illinois-Chicago 0 Singles competition: 1. #45 Rose, Georgia (NU) vs. Jaklin, Iris (UIC) 6-1, 4-0, unfinished 2. #13 Grier, Cristelle (NU) vs. Smith, Callan (UIC) 6-0, 5-2, unfinished 3. #35 Prousis, Alexis (NU) vs. Steven, Corey (UIC) 6-1, 2-2, unfinished 4. Peisel, Jamie (NU) def. Smith, Molly (UIC) 6-3, 6-1 5. Esseghir, Feriel (NU) def. Gill-Morlis, Grace (UIC) 6-1, 6-2 6. Ghazal, Nazlie (NU) def. Oum, Christina (UIC) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition: 1. #11 Prousis, Alexis/Grier, Cristelle (NU) def. Smith, Callan/Steven, Corey (UIC) 8-0 2. Esseghir, Feriel/Rose, Georgia (NU) def. Jaklin, Iris/Oum, Christina (UIC) 8-0 3. Ghazal, Nazlie/Peisel, Jamie (NU) vs. Smith, Molly/Gill-Morlis, Grace (UIC) 6-2, unfinished
Match Notes: Illinois-Chicago 13-10 Northwestern 21-4; National ranking #9 Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,6,5) Match was originally scheduled to be played at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center, but was moved to the Combe Tennis Center due to inclement weather. Official: Joy Duerr