April 9, 2010
WACO, Texas -- Fifth-ranked Northwestern saw all three of its upperclassmen record notable victories at the top three singles spots in the lineup but fell short in its bid to upset No. 1-ranked Baylor on its home courts as the Bears notched a 4-3 win Friday in Waco. NU junior Maria Mosolova toppled No. 6 Lenka Broosova, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, at the No. 1 spot, handing Broosova just her second loss in 17 dual matches this season.
Seniors Lauren Lui and Samantha Murray also defeated ranked members of the Bears' lineup.
The loss is Northwestern's second of the year against a No. 1-ranked team as NU (14-5, 5-1) also fell to then-top-ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill on March 23. Baylor, meanwhile, improved to 17-2 overall with the win Friday.
Doubles play began auspiciously for the Wildcats, with Samantha Murray and Kate Turvy combining to post an 8-3 victory against Baylor's Karolina Filipiak and Taylor Ormond at No. 3. Murray and Turvy improved to 9-0 as a dual doubles tandem this season with the win.
But Baylor answered with victories at the top two doubles spots, first with an 8-2 decision by Nina Secerbegovic and Jelena Stanivuk over NU's Stacey Lee and Lauren Lui. Meanwhile, Linda Abu Mushrefova slid up to the No. 1 spot for the first time this season to play alongside Maria Mosolova, but it was the 12th-ranked duo of Lenka Broosova and Csilla Borsanyi that went on to win by an 8-4 score over the Wildcats.
Baylor boasts a formidable singles lineup that features four players ranked in the top 100, including at No. 3 where Lui came up against an All-Big 12 performer in No. 59 Taylor Ormond. Ormond pushed Lui to a tiebreaker in the first set but Lui was able to emerge victorious and take the set 7-6. Lui then sped to a 4-0 lead in the third and closed out her 15th dual win of the spring with a 6-2 score in the second, putting NU's first point on the board.
After being edged in the first set 6-4, Abu Mushrefova continued to fight in the second against Filipiak at the sixth singles spot. Abu Mushrefova trailed by scores of 3-2 and 4-3 in the second but managed to pull even each time before seizing a 5-4 advantage. But Filipiak rallied down the stretch to win the set 7-5 and regain a one-point lead for the Bears.
Baylor's decisive points came courtesy of the 97th-ranked Borsanyi, who won a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Turvy at the No. 4 spot, and Stanivuk's 6-1, 7-5 victory against Stacey Lee. The loss was just Lee's third of her sophomore dual season.
After a slow start in the first set, No. 13 Mosolova found her A-game against Broosova, an All-American in both singles and doubles, as the NU junior bounced back from a 6-1 first-set loss to go ahead 3-0 in the second en route to her own 6-1 win. Mosolova then posted an important break early in third, gaining a 3-1 lead and protecting it down to stretch to take the set 6-4, winning her 24th overall match of the year.
The Wildcats received a strong performance from Murray at No. 2 as the senior was in control early against 16th-ranked Secerbegovic, nabbing the first set 6-4. After holding a 4-2 lead in the second, Murray dropped the next two as Secerbegovic pulled back to all square before winning three in a row to take the set 7-5 and send it to a decisive third. Leading 3-2 in the third, Murray fell behind 5-3 but recovered to tie at five and ultimately won the match in a tiebreak to account for NU's third team point.
Northwestern's trip to the Lone Star State wraps up Saturday when it faces No. 27 Texas with start time scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.
No. 1 Baylor 4, No. 5 Northwestern 3
Singles:
1: #13 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. #6 Lenka Broosova (BU), 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
2: #45 Samantha Murray (NU) def. #16 Nina Secerbegovic (BU), 6-4, 5-7, 7-6
3: Lauren Lui (NU) def. #59 Taylor Ormond (BU), 7-6, 6-2
4: #97 Csilla Borsanyi (BU) def. Kate Turvy (NU), 6-2, 6-2
5: Jelena Stanivuk (BU) def. Stacey Lee (NU), 6-1, 7-5
6: Karolina Filipiak (BU) def. Linda Abu Mushrefova (NU), 6-4, 7-5
Doubles:
1: #12 Broosova/Borsanyi (BU) def. Abu Mushrefova/Mosolova (NU), 8-4
2: Secerbegovic/Stanivuk (BU) def. Lee/Lui (NU), 8-2
3: Murray/Turvy (NU) def. Filipiak/Ormond (BU), 8-3
Order of Finish:
Singles: (3, 6, 4, 5*, 1, 2)
Doubles: (3, 2, 1*)