April 24, 2011
Site: East Lansing, Mich.
Score: No. 17 Northwestern 7, Michigan State 0
Records: NU (17-7, 9-1 Big Ten) Michigan State (12-11, 1-9 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Big Ten Tournament April 28-May 1 Ann Arbor, Mich.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- On the last day of the regular season, No. 17 Northwestern made quick work of Michigan State, 7-0, to improve to 17-7 on the year and 9-1 in the Big Ten. NU swept doubles play and won a trio of singles matches by 6-0, 6-0 scores against the Spartans.
Northwestern got off to a fast start in doubles play as sophomore Linda Abu Mushrefova and freshman Nida Hamilton combined to win their 14th dual match of the season together, topping Amy Barton and Marina Bohrer 8-4 at the No. 1 spot.
The tandem of Belinda Niu and Maria Mosolova had similar success at No. 2, improving to 15-4 on the year together at No. 2 by knocking off Nicole Herzog and Whitney Wilson by an 8-4 score. Brittany Wowchuk and Elena Chernyakova coupled to complete the sweep with an 8-3 victory over Valentina Rusakova and Michaela Silesova.
Northwestern's Mosolova, Kate Turvy and Abu Mushrefova each accounted for clean 6-0, 6-0 wins in their matches at No. 1, 4 and 5 singles, respectively, to sew up the dual victory for NU.
Niu also cruised at No. 2 singles, defeating Rusakova 6-2, 6-3 for her ninth victory of the year at the No. 2 line and 17th overall.
The Wildcats were forced to work a little harder at the remaining two singles positions, as both Wowchuk and Nida Hamilton needed third-set tiebreakers to decide their matches. Wowchuk, who had lost her first set 6-3, eventually prevailed 10-5 in the tiebreaker against Marina Bohrer at No. 3, while Hamilton outlasted Dana Guentert in the extra set, 10-7.
Northwestern makes a return trip to the Great Lakes State this week to compete as the No. 2 seed in the 2011 Big Ten Tournament hosted by Michigan. The Wildcats earned a first-round bye and will take to the courts in Ann Arbor at 2 p.m. Friday against the winner of a first-round match between seventh-seeded Indiana and 10th-seeded Penn State.
No. 17 Northwestern 7, Michigan State 0
Singles:
1: Maria Mosolova (NU) def. Amy Barton (MSU), 6-0, 6-0
2: Belinda Niu (NU) def. Valentina Rusakova (MSU), 6-2, 6-3
3: Brittany Wowchuk (NU) def. Marina Bohrer (MSU), 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-5)
4: Kate Turvy (NU) def. Olga Chernova (MSU), 6-0, 6-0
5: Linda Abu Mushrefova (NU) def. Nicole Herzog (MSU), 6-0, 6-0
6: Nida Hamilton (NU) def. Dana Gunetert (MSU), 6-0, 6-7 (8-6), 1-0 (10-7)
Doubles:
1: Abu Mushrefova/Hamilton (NU) def. Barton/Bohrer (MSU), 8-4
2: Mosolova/Niu (NU) def. Herzog/Wilson (MSU), 8-4
3: Wowchuk/Chernyakova (NU) def. Rusakova/Silesova (MSU), 8-3
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