Jan. 30, 2011
Complete Results
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Score: No. 20 Northwestern 7, No. 34 Nebraska 0
Records: NU (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten), Nebraska (1-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Next NU Event: Saturday, Feb. 5 vs. Minnesota Evanston 11 a.m. CT
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 20 Northwestern secured a trip to the main draw of the 2011 ITA National Indoor Team Championship on Sunday by knocking off No. 34 Nebraska, 7-0, in the second round of qualifying in Evanston. NU (2-2) won the doubles point against the Huskers and sealed the match with victories at No. 1, 5 and 6 singles.
"This was a solid weekend of tennis for us, I'm proud of our effort all the way around," said head coach Claire Pollard. "National Indoors is going to be a great challenge for us and a very new one for several players in our lineup. But for now we just need to focus on getting better before our next match Saturday against Minnesota."
Northwestern and Nebraska recently met in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament in Evanston, where the Wildcats won a 4-0 decision in a match that was closer at times than the final score indicated. Again on Sunday, NU was pushed in a number of matches but was able to respond on each occasion to complete the sweep.
The Wildcats recorded the first win of the afternoon when senior Maria Mosolova and freshman Belinda Niu easily handled Janine Weinreich and Jennifer Holmberg in an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles. The tandem improved to 3-1 alongside one another this season.
Northwestern recovered from a slow start at the No. 1 spot as 30th-ranked Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton came back from a 4-1 deficit against Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein, pulling level at four-all. Later tied at five, NU broke Nebraska's serve to go up 6-5 and held that advantage through the end of the match, winning by an 8-6 to clinch the 1-0 lead for the Wildcats entering singles.
NU also trailed early at No. 2, first 3-1 and again 4-2, but Brittany Wowchuk and Elena Chernyakova reeled off four straight games to claim 6-4 advantage on Mary Weatherholt and Patricia Veresova. Weatherholt and Veresova pulled back one game before the match was abandoned following the clinching of the doubles point by NU.
As was the case in their NCAA Tournament meeting, Maria Mosolova and Mary Weatherholt were unable to complete their No. 1 singles match, this time after Weatherholt was forced to retire in the second set after sustaining an injury. Weatherholt had won the first set, 6-2, but NU was awarded the team point by virtue of her retirement.
With Northwestern thereby leading by a 2-0 score, attention turned to four other courts where the Wildcats had already seized one-set advantages. That included the No. 5 singles match where Stacey Lee held a 4-1 lead up a set in the second on Janine Weinreich and went on to serve out the set 6-2 for the sixth win of her junior season.
On the opposite side of the Combe Tennis Center, Nida Hamilton was working on closing out her second set against Jennifer Holmberg after stealing a tight 6-4 first set. Hamilton surged to a 4-0 lead in the second and, like Lee, was able to serve out the set (6-1) to clinch NU's trip to the main draw of the National Indoors.
At No. 3, freshman Belinda Niu looked on top of her game in winning the first set over Veresova, 6-1, but the Cornhusker protected an early lead down the stretch in the second to take it in a tiebreaker, 7-6. Niu distanced herself from Veresova in the breaker, however, winning it by a 10-3 margin.
Also going to a tiebreaker third set was sophomore Kate Turvy and Nebraska's Stefanie Weinstein, who Turvy had previously defeated in NCAA's last spring. In the decisive set, it was all Turvy, as the Ohio native dominated to the tune of a 10-1 score.
Wowchuk managed to stave off a strong second-set effort at No. 2 singles by Geibert, posting a 6-3, 6-3 victory for her third victory in four outings at the No. 2 spot this season.
On Saturday, Northwestern will get an early start to its Big Ten dual season when it hosts Minnesota at 11 a.m. The 'Cats follow that match with a test against No. 7 Duke at 11 a.m. Sunday in the Combe Tennis Center. Admission to all Northwestern tennis matches is free for all fans.
No. 20 Northwestern 7, No. 34 Nebraska 0
Singles:
1: #52 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. Mary Weatherholt 2-6, 2-1, ret.
2: #66 Brittany Wowchuk (NU) def. Medeleine Geibert (NEB), 6-3, 6-3
3: #76 Belinda Niu (NU) def. Patricia Veresova (NEB), 6-1, 6-7 (5), 1-0 (10-3)
4: #120 Kate Turvy (NU) def. Stefanie Weinstein (NEB), 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-1)
5: Stacey Lee (NU) def. Janine Weinreich (NEB), 6-2, 6-2
6: Nida Hamilton (NU) def. Jennifer Holmberg (NEB), 6-4, 6-1
Doubles:
1: #30 Abu Mushrefova/Hamilton (NU) def. Geibert/Weinstein (NEB), 8-6
2: Chernyakova/Wowchuk (NU) vs. Weatherholt/Veresova (NEB), 6-5 (unf.)
3: Mosolova/Niu (NU) def. Weinreich/Holmberg (NEB), 8-3
Order of Finish:
Singles (1, 5, 6*, 2, 3, 4)
Doubles (3, 1*)
In consolation action earlier in the day, Boise State edged Harvard by a score of 4-3. Complete results from that match are below.
No. 38 Boise State 4, No. 44 Harvard 3
Singles:
1: #46 Holly Cao (HVD) def. Lauren Megale (BSU), 6-0, 6-0
2: Hideko Tachibana (HVD) def. Sonia Klamczynska (BSU),
3: Kristin Norton (HVD) def. Stephanie Jasper (BSU), 6-3, 6-2
4: Marlena Pietzuch (BSU) def. Natalie Blosser (HVD), 6-0, 6-1
5: Elyse Edwards (BSU) def. Samantha Gridley (HVD), 6-1, 7-5
6: Morgan Basil (BSU) def. Hannah Morrill (HVD), 6-1, 6-3
Doubles:
1: Cao/Rosekrans (HVD) def. Megale/Pietzuch (BSU), 8-6
2: Edwards/Basil (BSU) def. Blosser/Tachibana (HVD), 8-6
3: Jasper/Vo (BSU) def. Morrill/Norton (HVD), 8-5
Order of Finish:
Singles (1, 4, 6, 3, 5*, 2)
Doubles (3, 1, 2*)
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