March 28, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After playing their last Big Ten match more than a month ago, the 10th-ranked Wildcats are set to return to their Big Ten slate by hosting Illinois and No. 50 Purdue this weekend. The 'Cats take on the Illini at 11 a.m. Saturday before facing the Boilermakers at 11 a.m. Sunday. The location of the matches will be determined by weather conditions.
"We are excited to be back home after a stretch on the road," head coach Claire Pollard said. "Hopefully everyone will come out and give us a good home court advantage."
Note: Live Stats will only be available for matches played indoors at the Combe Tennis Center.
Several Wildcats appear in the latest ITA rankings. Sophomore Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) is 15th in singles and is joined by No. 23 Samantha Murray (Altrincham, Eng./Altrincham Grammar) and No. 113 Lauren Lui (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid). Rose and Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) are the nation's 10th-ranked doubles tandem.
Last Time Out
Northwestern split its contests in the Aloha State, cruising past Hawaii, 7-0, before falling to fifth-ranked California, 6-1. The 'Cats took all seven matches en route to a dominating win over Hawaii Friday night, 7-0. The Wildcats did not play a third set in any singles matches and only surrendered two games in doubles.
Rose extended her winning streak to eight with a win over 13th-ranked Zsuzsanna Fodor at No. 1, but fifth-ranked California downed 10th-ranked Northwestern Saturday night, 6-1.
California got out to a 1-0 lead by capturing the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. At No. 1, the 10th-ranked pair of Rose and Prousis fell to fourth-ranked Fodor and Suzie Babos, 8-5.
NU's lone win came at No. 2 doubles where Lui and sophomore Keri Robison (Decatur, Ill./Keystone National) defeated Nina Henkel and Stephanie Kusano, 8-5. Rose, ranked 15th, extended her singles winning streak to eight with a straight-set win over Fodor 6-1, 6-3, at No. 1.
Northwestern Notes
Rose has posted an impressive 11-1 record at No. 1 singles and she is 7-1 against ranked opponents. The sophomore is enjoying an eight-match winning streak and has claimed straight-set singles victories over No. 25 Kirsten Flower, No. 35 Riza Zalameda, and No. 41 Catrina Thompson, No. 7 Jenna Long, No. 41 Jenny Kuehn and No. 13 Zsuzsanna Fodor.
The 'Cats will return home for the first time since their contest against North Carolina on 2/18. Since then, the Wildcats knocked off Michigan and Penn State in Big Ten competition and went 1-1 on their spring break trip to Honolulu, Hawaii.
Northwestern's match against William & Mary has been rescheduled. The 'Cats will travel to Williamsburg, Va., to take on the Tribe at 11 a.m. Friday, April 6. The 'Cats' trip to Cambridge, Mass., to face Harvard and William & Mary had been cancelled due to travel complications.