March 2, 2011
No. 9 Northwestern (6-5, 1-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 24 Texas (4-3, 0-0 Big 12)
Saturday, March 5
Combe Tennis Center
Evanston, Ill. 11 a.m. CT
Live Scoring: NUsports.com
EVANSTON, Ill. -- With two wins over top-5 opponents to its credit, Northwestern vaulted from No. 18 to No. 9 with the release of the first computerized Campbell's/ITA College Tennis rankings this week. On Saturday, NU will test its mettle against No. 24 Texas, seeking revenge against a Longhorn team that topped the 'Cats 6-1 a year ago.
Start time for the match is set for 11 a.m. CT. Fans are invited out to the Combe Tennis Center to take advantage of free admission, free pizza and a serving contest with a chance to win great Northwestern tennis prizes during the intermission between doubles and singles. Also be sure to stick around after the match to take part in the first edition of Challenge the 'Cats, where you can try your hand at facing a member of the Northwestern women's tennis team in a tiebreaker set.
Live stats of the match are available on NUsports.com by following the link at the top of this page.
Following its tilt with Texas, Northwest is off from competition until March 24 and does not compete at home again until March 27 against Wisconsin.
Moving On Up
The release of the computerized rankings also favored Northwestern in the individual polls, where senior Maria Mosolova moved up to No. 25 and sophomore Brittany Wowchuk took over the No. 33 spot. Coming in behind them in singles are No. 72 Belinda Niu and No. 93 Kate Turvy, both of whom contributed wins in Northwestern's 4-2 upset of No. 3 North Carolina last weekend.
In doubles, the impressive run this year of sophomore Linda Abu Mushrefova and freshman Nida Hamilton has carried on as the 'Cats are now No. 8 in the nation. Hamilton and Abu Mushrefova, champions of the ITA Midwest Regional last fall, are coming off a come-from-behind 8-6 win over sixth-ranked Shinann Featherston and Lauren McHale of UNC and are 8-3 at the No. 1 position.
Scouting Texas
The Longhorns are led by a sensational sophomore in No. 16 Aerial Ellis, their lone ranked singles player, but also feature experience in the lineup thanks to seniors Amanda Craddock, Caroline Larsson and Maggie Mello. Texas, which with its win last season snapped a five-match losing streak to the Wildcats, is coming off of back-to-back victories over South Florida and Arizona State.
Lee Garners First Big Ten Player of the Week Honor
Northwestern junior Stacey Lee was named the Big Ten Women's Tennis Player of the Week on Tuesday, the second time this month the award has gone to an NU player. Lee claimed a dramatic three-set win at No. 4 singles on Saturday, defeating 93rd-ranked Lauren McHale to clinch the Wildcats upset of third-ranked North Carolina.
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