April 16, 2011
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Score: No. 15 Northwestern 6, Indiana 1
Records: NU (15-6, 7-0 Big Ten) IU (12-9, 2-6 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Sunday, April 17 vs. No. 59 Purdue Evanston, Ill. 11 a.m. CT
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 15 Northwestern won its seventh-straight Big Ten match of the season Saturday with a 6-1 triumph over Indiana in the Combe Tennis Center. Fueled once again by doubles victories and a win from the No. 1 line, the 'Cats rebounded from a tough loss on Thursday. With the win, Northwestern remains tied with 10th-ranked Michigan for the lead atop the Big Ten standings.
"This was a great win for us against a solid Indiana team," said head coach Claire Pollard. "I have a lot of respect for Lin Loring and what he's done with his program over the years. On our end, we tried some new looks and switch some things around and it ultimately worked to our benefit. It's always good to get a win like the one we got today."
NU had a new look at No. 1 doubles with Linda Abu Mushrefova and Elena Chernyakova pairing up for the first time this season. The duo lost the first game, but synched up to win the next five en route to a pivotal 8-4 victory over the 39th-ranked Hoosier team of Leslie Hureau and Myriam Sopel.
For only the fourth time this year, the No. 2 Wildcat twosome of Maria Mosolova and Belinda Niu fell in a doubles match. Kayla Fujimoto and Evgeniya Vertesheva of Indiana found a way to defeat Mosolova and Niu, 8-4.
With strong play down the stretch, Nida Hamilton and Brittany Wowchuk, also paired together for the first time this season, fended off IU's No. 3 team of Sophie Garre and Katya Zapadalova, 8-6, giving the Wildcats the 1-0 lead heading to singles.
After playing a third-set tiebreaker to determine the match against Baylor on Thursday, Stacey Lee kicked things off for Northwestern in the singles against Indiana, giving the 'Cats a 2-0 advantage with her 6-1, 6-2 victory over IU's No. 5 Kayla Fujimoto.
Sophomore Kate Turvy gave Northwestern a 3-0 lead shortly after with her 6-1, 6-2 win over Charlotte Martin of Indiana. Turvy moves to 4-0 on the year at the No. 4 spot for the 'Cats. Nida Hamilton locked up the winning fourth point for Northwestern with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Myriam Sopel, giving the freshman her seventh win on the No. 6 line this season.
Brittany Wowchuk continued her impressive weekend defeating Katya Zapadalova from Indiana in two sets. Wowchuk found herself down 5-1 in the second set but rattled off six straight games to come from behind and beat Zapadalova, 6-3, 7-5.
Wildcats senior Maria Mosolova moved to a perfect 17-0 on the season with a fantastic match against 57th-ranked Leslie Hureau of Indiana. Mosolova won the first set, 6-2, but Hureau stormed out of the gates to make it 5-3 in the second. Northwestern's No. 1 then tied things up at five apiece, before the two traded wins forcing a tiebreaker set. Mosolova never looked back, winning with brilliant play, 7-3. With the 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win, Northwestern held a 6-0 lead in the team score.
Freshman No. 2 standout Belinda Niu was the last to finish in a back-and-forth match with Indiana's Evgeniya Vertesheva. Vertesheva took the first set with no difficulty, 6-0, but Niu regrouped and pulled off a 6-4 second-set victory, forcing a third set. Niu quickly took a 4-1 lead, only to see it vanish into a 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 win for Vertesheva -- Indiana's only one of the day.
The 'Cats will make their final home appearance of the regular season on Sunday when No. 59 Purdue comes to Evanston. Due to the projected weather, the match is tentatively scheduled to be outside at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center, but be sure to keep up to date with NUsports.com for the latest information leading up to Sunday.
No. 15 Northwestern 6, Indiana 1
Singles:
1: #13 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. #57 Leslie Hureau (IU), 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
2: #114 Evgeniya Vertesheva def. #65 Belinda Niu (NU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
3: #77 Brittany Wowchuk (NU) def. Katya Zapadalova (IU) 6-3, 7-5
4:#101 Kate Turvy (NU) def. Charlotte Martin (IU) 6-1, 6-2
5: Stacey Lee (NU) def. Kayla Fujimoto (IU) 6-1, 6-2
6: Nida Hamilton (NU) def. Myriam Sopel (IU), 6-3, 6-3
Doubles:
1: Hureau/Sopel(IU) def. Abu Mushrefova/Chernyakova (NU) 8-4
2: Mosolova/Niu (NU) def. Fujimoto/Vertesheva (IU), 8-4
3: Hamilton/Wowchuk (NU) def. Garre/Zapadalova (IU) 8-6
Order of Finish:
Singles (5, 4, 6*, 3, 1, 2)
Doubles (1, 2, 3*)
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