Belinda Niu's 6-3, 6-2 upset of No. 51 Tayler Davis helped NU to a 4-1 defeat of Cal at the ITA National Indoor Team Championship Friday.Belinda Niu's 6-3, 6-2 upset of No. 51 Tayler Davis helped NU to a 4-1 defeat of Cal at the ITA National Indoor Team Championship Friday.

No. 20 Northwestern Upends No. 5 Cal in Strong Start to Title Defense

Feb. 18, 2011

Complete Results

Event: ITA National Indoor Team Championship First Round
Site: Charlottesville, Va. (Boar's Head Tennis Club)
Score: No. 20 Northwestern 4, No. 5 California 1
Records: NU (5-3, 1-0 Big Ten) California (5-1, 0-0 Pac-10)
Next NU Event: National Indoor Team Championship Second Round • vs. No. 4 North Carolina • 3 p.m. CT

National Indoor Team Championship -- Official Website

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- After boasting a No. 1 and No. 2 ranking during its runs to the ITA National Indoor Team titles in 2009 and 2010, 20th-ranked Northwestern looked just fine in its new role of underdog on Friday as it ousted fifth-ranked California by a 4-1 score in Virginia's Boar's Head Tennis Club.

By eliminating a highly ranked Golden Bears squad from the tournament draw for the second consecutive year, Northwestern ran its winning streak at the National Indoor Team Championship to an incredible nine matches.

"We thought that we had some favorable matchups coming into tonight but you never know until you get out on the courts," said head coach Claire Pollard. "As usual it was huge having that doubles point in our back pocket and we played extremely well in singles -- not only where we won but also Maria winning a first set and seeing Kate (Turvy) split sets gave everyone confidence. It certainly doesn't get any easier against North Carolina tomorrow but we're looking forward to the challenge."

California's roster still features a number of players who helped bounce NU from the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three seasons. But on Friday, even though three of the six singles matches were extremely competitive through two sets, the combination of Northwestern's victory in doubles and dominant performances at No. 3, 5, and 6 singles meant the dual's outcome was almost never in doubt down the stretch.

NU's No. 1 doubles team of Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton, who thanks to their strong start to the dual season moved up to No. 15 in the Campbell's/ITA College Tennis poll, sought their second win of the year over a top-5 opponent as they took on Jana Juricova and Mari Andersson. But the Cal duo was too strong on this day, winning by an 8-2 score over the 'Cats.

Northwestern's newly ranked tandem of Maria Mosolova and Belinda Niu (No. 58) answered with a big 8-4 win at the No. 3 position over Marina Cossou and Anett Schutting.

That left the doubles point to be decided by the No. 2 match, where NU's 66th-ranked Elena Chernyakova and Brittany Wowchuk jumped to a 5-2 lead with a two-break edge on Cal's Tayler Davis and Annie Goransson. The Golden Bears managed one break to make it 5-4, but NU held on down the stretch to take the match, 8-6. Chernyakova and Wowchuk remained unbeaten on the year (5-0) with the win.

Northwestern got off to an equally hot start in singles play, winning four first sets and receiving a boost at the No. 6 spot from the freshman Hamilton. The Oak Brook native led Cal's Alice Duranteau from start to finish in her 6-4 first-set win and sped to a 6-1 win in the second to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.

As she showed in her tremendous effort in NU's dual vs. Duke, freshman Belinda Niu can play her best on the big stage, and she did so again Friday night. Niu, ranked No. 100 in the nation, faced No. 51 Tayler Davis and fought for a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 3 singles spot to improve to 5-2 in dual play this season.

At No. 5, meanwhile, junior Stacey Lee was having little difficulty with Cal's Anett Schutting, taking the first set 6-2 and cruising in the second as she clinched the match by claiming the set, 6-0.

Another first-set win for NU came courtesy of the three-time All-American Mosolova, who topped the 2010 NCAA Singles runner-up Jana Juricova 6-4 in the fourth all-time meeting between the two. In the second, Juricova came back from down 2-1 to seize win the set 6-2 before the match was abandoned with Northwestern's securing the fourth point.

Kate Turvy split sets against No. 35 Annie Goransson before their match was abandoned while Wowchuk trailed a set and 2-1 to No. 70 Mari Andersson when an injury forced her to retire, accounting for California's lone point on the night.

Northwestern and fourth-ranked North Carolina, the finalists at the 2010 ITA Indoor Team Championships, will meet this year in the quarterfinal round Saturday in Charlottesville.

No. 20 Northwestern 4, No. 5 California 1
Singles:
1: #29 Maria Mosolova (NU) vs. #4 Jana Juricova (CAL), 6-4, 2-6, unf.
2: #70 Mari Andersson def. #45 Brittany Wowchuk (NU), 6-4, 2-1, ret.
3: #100 Belinda Niu (NU) def. #51 Tayler Davis (CAL), 6-3, 6-2
4: #98 Kate Turvy (NU) vs. #35 Annie Goransson (CAL), 4-6, 6-0, 1-2, unf.
5: Stacey Lee (NU) def. Anett Schutting (CAL), 6-2, 6-0
6: Nida Hamilton (NU) def. Alice Duranteau (CAL), 6-4, 6-1

Doubles:
1: #5 Andersson/Juricova (CAL) def. #15 Abu Mushrefova/Hamilton (NU), 8-2
2: #66 Chernyakova/Wowchuk (NU) def. Davis/Goransson (CAL), 8-6
3: #58 Mosolova/Niu (NU) def. Cossou/Schutting (CAL), 8-4

Order of Finish:
Singles (6, 3, 2, 5*)
Doubles (1, 3, 2*)

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