Feb. 5, 2011
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Score: No. 23 Northwestern 7, No. 71 Minnesota 0
Records: NU (3-2, 1-0 Big Ten), Minnesota (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Sunday, Feb. 6 vs. Duke Evanston Noon CT
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Getting an early start to its 2011 Big Ten dual season, No. 23 Northwestern proved too strong for Minnesota in its swift 7-0 victory of the Gophers Saturday in Evanston. NU swept all three doubles matches for the first time this season and won in straight sets at all six singles positions.
"Each match is a chance for us to improve and I thought we did that today," said NU head coach Claire Pollard, who stands just nine victories shy of 300 in her career at Northwestern. "Especially in doubles where Linda (Abu Mushrefova) and Nida (Hamilton) had to fight back a little bit for a win. We have a tough match awaiting us tomorrow (against Duke) so we'll see where we stand after that."
At No. 2 doubles, junior Elena Chernyakova and sophomore Brittany Wowchuk leapt to a 4-1 lead on No. 84 Alessandra Ferrazzi and Alexa Palen and kept the momentum going by seizing a 6-2 advantage thanks to a solid return game by Wowchuk. NU held on for the 8-3 victory to give the Wildcats their first win of the afternoon.
NU's No. 3 tandem of senior Maria Mosolova and freshman Belinda Niu broke open a 3-3 tie against Magadalena Wiecha and Mariana Spilca with two breaks and a hold to gain a 6-3 edge. With the `Cats later leading 7-4, Mosolova served her way through several deuce points and eventually forced a Gopher return into the net on match point as NU clinched the 1-0 lead entering singles.
Things were tighter at No. 1 doubles where NU's Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton picked up an early break to go up 3-1. But the Minnesota duo of Natalia Pintusava and Yuliana Umanets fought all the way back and took a 4-3 lead with a break of serve of their own. NU got back on serve at 5-5 and fought for a 7-5 lead, but the Gophers responded with a break to pull to 7-6. That was as close as they'd come however, as Abu Mushrefova and Hamilton completed the sweep for NU.
Barely 45 minutes into singles play, NU's Linda Abu Mushrefova made it a 2-0 Wildcat lead with her convincing 6-3, 6-0 victory at No. 6 singles, improving to a perfect 5-0 in Big Ten dual matches in her career.
Freshman Belinda Niu made her Big Ten dual debut a successful win, blitzing Minnesota sophomore Alexa Palen, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 4 singles.
At No. 2, Wowchuk cruised past Ferrazzi in the first set, 6-1, only to have Ferrazzi win the opening three games of the second set. But Wowchuk quickly turned the tables and grabbed a 4-3 lead. She then served out her game without dropping a point and broke Ferrazzi in a lengthy game to win the match 6-1, 6-3, and clinch the Wildcat victory.
Junior Stacey Lee notched her third singles dual win in four tries this season, wearing down the Gophers' Magadlena Wiecha, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 5.
Tied at three in her No. 3 singles match against Yuliana Umanets, sophomore Kate Turvy found her stride down the stretch of the first set to win it 6-3. After having her service broken to begin the second, Turvy pulled back to two-all and rarely missed down the stretch, taking the match by a 6-3, 6-3 score.
Fifty-second-ranked Maria Mosolova took on a gritty opponent in No. 51 Natalia Pintusava, but the NU senior was too tough for Pintusava, like Turvy also winning by a 6-3, 6-3 count.
On Sunday, Northwestern resumes a rigorous nonconference schedule when it hosts No. 6 Duke at noon CT in Evanston. All fans are invited to the match to participate in USTA Campus Kids Day events, including free pizza, a serving contest and a raffle to win a tennis racket.
No. 23 Northwestern 7, No. 71 Minnesota 0
Singles:
1: #52 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. #51 Natalia Pintusava (MN), 6-3, 6-3
2: #66 Brittany Wowchuk (NU) def. Alessandra Ferrazzi (MN), 6-1, 6-3
3: #120 Kate Turvy (NU) def. Yuliana Umanets (MN), 6-3, 6-3
4: #76 Belinda Niu (NU) def. Alexa Palen (MN), 6-1, 6-1
5: Stacey Lee (NU) def. Magdalena Wiecha (MN), 6-3, 6-0
6: Linda Abu Mushrefova (NU) def. Doron Muravnik (MN), 6-3, 6-0
Doubles:
1: #30 Abu Mushrefova/Hamilton (NU) def. Pintusava/Umanets (MN), 8-6
2: Chernyakova/Wowchuk (NU) def. #84 Ferrazzi/Palen (MN), 8-3
3: Mosolova/Niu (NU) def. Spilca/Wiecha (MN), 8-4
Order of Finish:
Singles (6, 4, 2*, 5, 1, 3)
Doubles (2, 3*, 1)
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