May 13, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Pack your bags Wildcat fans, Northwestern's ninth-ranked and 11th-seeded women's tennis team is headed to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships' round of 16 after beating Purdue 4-1 Saturday at the Combe Tennis Center. NU took the doubles point then fought off the Boilermakers in singles play to secure their spot in the tournament's "Sweet 16" for the fifth time in six years. NU is slated to face sixth-seeded Georgia Tech in its third-round matchup.
"They (Purdue) were very impressive," head coach Claire Pollard said. "You know, in the doubles we were in control the whole way, but the singles, wow, they played excellent tennis. I think it's good for the Big Ten, and hopefully that's a good sign of things to come."
The Wildcats began the day by taking a 1-0 lead after clinching the doubles point.
Senior Jamie Peisel (Savannah, Ga./Savannah Country Day) and freshman Nazlie Ghazal (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) got on the board first for the 'Cats as they claimed a win at No. 3 doubles.
The two sprinted out to a 5-0 lead versus Purdue's Anna Dzeva and Brittany Minna, breaking the Boilermakers twice in the process, then won three of the next six games to take the win. At match point, Ghazal hit an emphatic cross-court winner to give the Wildcats the edge for the doubles point.
NU's 11th-ranked doubles team of senior Cristelle Grier (Epsom, England/Putney) and junior Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) then clinched the doubles point for the 'Cats with a win at No. 1.
The two jumped out to a 5-1 lead before Purdue's Brooke Beier and Mallory Voelker - the Boilermaker team that beat Harvard's third-ranked doubles team of Elsa O'Riain and Melissa Anderson Friday -- scored to cut the lead to 5-2. The Wildcats rebounded by using great court vision and ball placement, winning three-straight games to take the match 8-2.
At No. 2, Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) and Feriel Esseghir (Sarasota, Fla./Brickhouse Academy) were within one game of winning the match when it was abandoned. After falling behind 2-0 to Anna Dzeva and Brittany Minna, the NU duo stormed back to take a 7-4 lead when the doubles point was clinched.
While NU entered the singles portion of the match holding onto a 1-0 lead, the Boilermakers made the 'Cats fight every inch of the way in singles.
At No. 6, Ghazal extended the Wildcats' lead to 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Minna. Ghazal broke Minna twice in the first set and three times in the second, and got Minna to hit into an unforced error in the second match point to claim the victory.
No. 35 Prousis finished next for the 'Cats, taking a hard-fought decision over Voelker at No. 3 singles. After taking the first set, Prousis got an early 4-0 lead on Voelker in the second before taking two of the next three games to give Northwestern a 3-0 lead.
Purdue cut the Wildcats' lead to two as Dzeva topped Esseghir 6-1, 6-3 at No. 5.
While the first three singles matches ended relatively quickly, the remaining three contests were hotly contested, with every player knowing the future of their respective teams' season was in the balance.
At No. 2, NU's 13th-ranked Grier finally came through and clinched the match for the Wildcats. After falling behind early to Beier, Grier battled back to win the first set. The second set went much the way the first did, however, and Grier needed to combat an early deficit to put herself in a position to win. She did just that, winning a handful of clutch points en route to a 6-4, 6-4 win. At match point, Grier got Beier to hit into an unforced error and the crowd erupted as the Wildcats had secured a spot in the round of 16.
At No. 1, the 45th-ranked Rose was within one point of sealing a win over Purdue's 106th-ranked Schuler. She led 6-3, 5-3 when the match was abandoned.
While Grier is the reigning conference Player of the Year, Pollard said she has confidence Big Ten Freshman of the Year Rose can continue to find success at the top of the lineup.
"I think we have two number one players," Pollard said. `But I thought with us going out in the heat, Georgia had an edge. I think we have as good of a one-two-three punch as there is out there. I just have to put them in order, I wish I didn't. But we're not really caught up in the numbers, we're caught up in having a great team," Pollard explained after the match.
At No. 4, Peisel trailed Wooten 6-7 (4), 0-4 when Grier clinched the match for NU.
The Wildcats now travel to Stanford, Calif., to face sixth-seeded Georgia Tech at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 18 at the Taube Tennis Center. Northwestern beat the Yellow Jackets 4-3 earlier this year in Atlanta.
"I think we have some confidence going in," Pollard said. "We've been shooting the whole year toward getting out of the round of 16, now we got there. We'll put our focus in that, and hopefully we can get it done."
With the win, Northwestern improves its record to 23-4 this season.
Tennis Match Results Purdue vs Northwestern May 13, 2006 at Evanston, Ill.#9 Northwestern 4, #43 Purdue 1 Singles competition: 1. #45 Rose, Georgia (NU) vs. #106 Randi Schuler (PUR) 6-3, 1-6, 5-3, unfinished 2. #13 Grier, Cristelle (NU) def. Brooke Beier (PUR) 6-4, 6-4 3. #35 Prousis, Alexis (NU) def. Mallory Voelker (PUR) 6-2, 6-1 4. Peisel, Jamie (NU) vs. Stephanie Wooten (PUR) 6-7 (4-7), 0-4, unfinished 5. Anna Dzeva (PUR) def. Esseghir, Feriel (NU) 6-1, 6-3 6. Ghazal, Nazlie (NU) def. Brittany Minna (PUR) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition: 1. #11 Prousis, Alexis/Grier, Cristelle (NU) def. Brooke Beier/Mallory Voelker (PUR) 8-2 2. Esseghir, Feriel/Rose, Georgia (NU) vs. Randi Schuler/Stephanie Wooten (PUR) 7-4, unfinished 3. Peisel, Jamie/Ghazal, Nazlie (NU) def. Anna Dzeva/Brittany Minna (PUR) 8-3
Match Notes: Purdue 14-10; National ranking #43 Northwestern 22-4; National ranking #9 Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,3,5,2) 2006 NCAA Women's Tennis Regional Final Match moved indoors to the Combe Tennis Center due to inclement weather. Official: Joy Duerr T-2:55 A-169