Feb. 28, 2010
Complete Results
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In a matchup of two schools that have combined to win the last four ITA National Indoor Team championships, No. 2 Northwestern came out on top by downing No. 14 Georgia Tech 6-1 Sunday in Evanston. The 'Cats removed the drama from the match early, winning the doubles point as well as the first three singles matches off the courts to account for the clinching points.
Northwestern improves to 10-1 on the year while Georgia Tech heads home to Atlanta with a 6-5 dual record. NU has now defeated Georgia Tech three straight times since losing to the Yellow Jackets in the title match of the 2008 Indoor Team Championship.
For the second consecutive match, Northwestern debuted some new doubles pairings and this time was able to secure the doubles point thanks to wins at the No. 2 and 3 positions.
Doubles play lasted a bit longer than usual on Sunday as a consequence of some malfunctioning arena lights in Combe Tennis Center, which interrupted the doubles matches for nearly 40 minutes. At the time of the break, NU led by margins of 3-1 at No. 2 and 2-1 at No. 3 while sitting in a tie at two at the No. 1 match.
Northwestern was able to emerge from the unexpected break as sharp as ever, particularly at No. 3 where Lauren Lui and Stacey Lee managed to win six straight games in emphatic fashion to win 8-1 over Lynn Blau and Elizabeth Kilborn. At the second spot, the duo of Maria Mosolova and Linda Abu Mushrefova picked up their second straight dual victory, defeating Hillary Davis and Christina Ngo 8-3 to help Northwestern lock up the 1-0 lead entering singles.
NU sent Elena Chernyakova and Samantha Murray out to the No. 1 match to take on Georgia Tech's Irina Falconi and Sasha Krupina. Chernyakova and Murray, who last season posted a 23-2 dual record at No. 3 doubles together, battled to tie the match up at six before Falconi and Krupina were able to win the last two games en route to an 8-6 win.
Fans at the Combe Tennis Center were once again treated to some high level tennis in singles. Three different matches--No. 1, 2 and 4--featured 4-4 scores in competitive first sets.
One of those matches featured Murray taking on 112th-ranked Krupina in the second singles match. Murray persevered with a 6-4 win in the first before racing through the second set to win it 6-0 and improve to 17-6 overall this season.
Also picking up a straight-sets victory was Lee, who bested Lynn Blau 6-1 in the first set. In the second, Blau held a 3-1 advantage before Lee found her stride, getting back on serve at three-all and going on to not lose a game the rest of the way, closing out the set 6-3.
Northwestern's clinching fourth point came at No. 6 singles, where Cherynakova dominated Kilborn in a 6-1, 6-3 victory to improve to 6-0 in dual matches in her sophomore campaign.
At No. 4, NU freshman Kate Turvy surged ahead 5-4 against 2008 NCAA Singles champion Amanda McDowell and again at 6-5, but McDowell answered each time to force a breaker. A resilient Turvy fought off McDowell again, going ahead 5-2 in the breaker and holding on to take it 7-3. The score was even at three in the second set before McDowell retired to hand Turvy and Northwestern another point on the team scoreboard.
Lui was her usual reliable self at No. 3 singles, going up an early break on Georgia Tech's Christina Ngo and holding on to win the first set 6-4. In the second, Lui jumped to a 4-1 lead before Ngo won three tight games to make it 4-4. The NU senior regained her form, however, and took the set 6-4. Lui has now won 19 of the last 20 sets she has played.
Northwestern's 12th-ranked Mosolova squared off with the nation's top-ranked singles player in Falconi and managed to claim a 4-2 early lead. But Falconi came charging back to win four straight games and take the opening set 6-4. The action was tied at three apiece in the third when Falconi took control of the match, posting another 6-4 set win.
The Wildcats resume Big Ten play next weekend when they go on the road to face Purdue on Saturday and Indiana on Sunday.
Complete results from Sunday's win over Georgia Tech are below:
No. 2 Northwestern 6, No. 14 Georgia Tech 1
Singles
1: #1 Irina Falconi (GT) def. #12 Maria Mosolova (NU), 6-4, 6-4
2: #29 Samantha Murray (NU) def. #112 Sasha Krupina (GT), 6-4, 6-0
3: Lauren Lui (NU) def. Christina Ngo (GT), 6-4, 6-4
4: #108 Kate Turvy (NU) def. Amanda McDowell (GT), 7-6 (3), 3-3 ret.
5: Stacey Lee (NU) def. Lynn Blau (GT), 6-1, 6-3
6: Elena Chernyakova (NU) def. Elizabeth Kilborn (GT), 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
1: Falconi/Krupina (GT) def. Chernyakova/Murray (NU), 8-6
2: Abu Mushrefova/Mosolova (NU) def. Davis/Ngo (GT), 8-3
3: Lee/Lui (NU) def. Blau/Kilborn (GT), 8-1
Order of Finish:
Singles: (2, 5, 6*, 1, 4, 3)
Doubles: (2, 3*, 1)