Feb. 10, 2012
2012 ITA National Team Indoor Championship
Site: Charlottesville, Va. (Boar's Head Sports Club)
Score: No. 12 Northwestern 4, No. 9 Virginia 2
Records: NU (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten), UVA (5-1, 0-0 ACC)
Next NU Event: Saturday, Feb. 11 -- vs. No. 4 UCLA (Charlottesville, Va.), 2:30 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Linda Abu Mushrefova clinched the point to propel Northwestern past the Virginia Cavaliers on Friday evening with a thrilling 4-2 comeback win in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship at the Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.
Northwestern (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) avenged last season's ugly loss to the Cavaliers (5-1, 0-0) on their home courts and handed UVA its first loss of the season in the process.
"We had good road experiences last weekend at North Carolina and Duke," said Northwestern head coach Claire Pollard. "I thought the Virginia fans were very classy and showed great sportsmanship. I thought it was a good, fun environment for our team to play in."
For the fourth straight time the Wildcats started the match by ceding the doubles point to the opposition. Virginia won at Nos. 3 and 1 doubles, while the match at No. 2 went unfinished. Maria Fuccillo and Lindsey Hardenbergh knocked off Kate Turvy (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) and Brittany Wowchuk (Toronto, Canada/Oakville Trafalgar), 8-6. Top team Emily Fraser and Li Xi clinched the doubles point with a win over NU's Abu Mushrefova (Bradenton, Fla./Pendleton) and Veronica Corning (Beverly, Mass./Pingree School/Boston College), who were paired together for the second straight time.
"UVA is a good doubles team," said Pollard. "The bad thing about this season is we have lost a lot of doubles points, but the good thing is we know how to play singles after having lost the doubles point."
When singles play began, the Wildcats began to come charging back. Corning posted her second win as a Wildcat with a 6-2, 6-2 straight set victory over Virginia's 85th-ranked Hana Tomljanovic. Nida Hamilton (Oak Brook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) gave Northwestern a 2-1 lead with her win against No. 76 Maria Fuccillo. Hamilton pulled off the upset in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3.
The next two matches, the top two singles battles, finished within moments of one another. After winning the first set 7-6 (5) in a hard fought tiebreaker, Wowchuk, ranked No. 86, cruised past UVA's No. 30 Lindsey Hardenbergh, 6-1, in the second set to give the Wildcats a 3-1 advantage. The lead was sliced in half, however, when No. 29 Emily Fraser finished off Northwestern's Kate Turvy, 6-0, 7-6 (3).
Two more matches remained on the courts at Nos. 4 and 5 singles and both were in the third set when Wowchuk and Turvy's tilts concluded. Abu Mushrefova dropped the first set to No. 75 Vierra before capturing the second frame, 6-2. When the third set began, it was all purple and white and the Floridian whitewashed Vierra, 6-0, to send her team on to the next round. Abu Mushrefova leads the Wildcats with five singles wins this season, all of which have come on the No. 5 line.
Belinda Niu (Portland, Ore./Lincoln) was also leading 3-1 in the third set against Xi when Northwestern clinched the match.
"We gave a tremendous effort in singles. We gave away a set at the No. 5 spot, but overall we were relentless tonight," said Pollard. "We just kept coming at them and coming at them all night.
Northwestern will play No. 4 UCLA Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the quarterfinal round.
Doubles
1. Emily Fraser/Li Xi (UVA) def. Linda Abu Mushrefova/Veronica Corning (NU) - 8-5
2. Erin Vierra/Hana Tomljanovic (UVA) vs. Belinda Niu/Nida Hamilton (NU) - 7-5, unfinished
3. Lindsey Hardenbergh/Maria Fuccillo (UVA) def. Kate Turvy/Brittany Wowchuk (NU) - 8-6
Order of finish: 3, 1*
Singles
1. No. 29 Emily Fraser (UVA) def. No. 26 Kate Turvy (NU) - 6-0, 7-6 (3)
2. No. 86 Brittany Wowchuk (NU) def. No. 30 Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVA) - 7-6 (5), 6-1
3. Belinda Niu (NU) vs. Li Xi (UVA) - 5-7, 6-1, 3-1 (unfinished)
4. Veronica Corning (NU) def. No. 85 Hana Tomljanovic (UVA) - 6-2, 6-2
5. Linda Abu Mushrefova (NU) def. No. 75 Erin Vierra (UVA) - 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
6. Nida Hamilton (NU) def. No. 76 Maria Fuccillo (UVA) - 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 4, 6, 2, 1, 5*
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