Northwestern
Notre Dame
Wildcats Down Fighting Irish, 5-2
4/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 14, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - With her 11th-consecutive singles victory of the season, junior Cristelle Grier (Epsom, England/Putney) clinched a 5-2 Northwestern win over Notre Dame in dramatic fashion Thursday at Vandy Christie Tennis Center. The Wildcats improve to 18-2 overall and remain at 7-0 in the Big Ten.
After Grier won her first set handily, 6-3, Notre Dame's Brook Buck battled in the second set to tie it up, 5-5. Tied again at 6-6, the two moved to a tiebreak, as the overall match hung in the balance.
Northwestern had claimed the doubles point, but two Notre Dame wins at No. 1 and No. 6 singles with another potential win brewing at No. 5 gave the Irish the momentum.
But Grier quickly stomped on any hope Notre Dame had by closing out the tiebreak, 7-5. A forehand winner -- complete with a fist-pump for good measure -- put the exclamation point on the match and solidified the Wildcats' sixth-straight win over the Irish.
Senior Andrea Yung (San Marino, Calif./San Marino) battled through the increasingly chilly weather at No. 5 singles, putting the finishing touches on her eighth-straight win to bring the final score to 5-2. Yung has not lost in dual competition all spring (8-0) and is 17-4 overall.
Valerie Vladea (Tiffin, Iowa/Burlington Central) started the singles scoring with a ruthless 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 4 that last about 40 minutes. All 16 of Vladea's dual wins have come in straight sets.
Sophomore Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) continued to pile on with a quick victory of her own, 6-1, 6-1. With 28 wins on the year, Prousis inches closer to cracking the 30-win barrier for the second-consecutive year.
The Irish fought back from the 3-0 hole though, as No. 37 Catrina Thompson upset No. 3 Audra Cohen (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) and Sarah Jane Connelly defeated freshman Alexis Conill (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) at the No. 6 position.
But Grier's win over Buck slammed the door shut on Notre Dame.
The `Cats began the day by claiming two of three doubles match to win the point for the 12th time in a row.
Top-ranked duo Cohen and Grier beat the nation's fourth-ranked tandem, Catrina and Christian Thompson. Tied 4-4, the Wildcats went on to win the next four games, closing out their 14th-straight victory together, 8-4. They are now 29-2 overall, 15-2 dual.
Northwestern clinched the doubles point on the strength of a 9-7 win from Vladea and Feriel Esseghir (Sarasota, Fla./Brickhouse Academy) at the No. 3 slot. The duo is 3-0 this season.
Senior Kristi Roemer (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) and Prousis narrowly fell in a tiebreak at No. 2 doubles, 8-7. It was only the tandem's second loss in their last 10 matches together.
Northwestern returns to Big Ten competition this weekend when Purdue and Illinois come to Evanston Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17, respectively. Sunday's bout against Illinois is Senior Day for the `Cats. Roemer and Yung will be briefly honored before the match kicks off at 11 a.m.
#3 Northwestern 5, #26 Notre Dame 2
Doubles
No. 1 - #1 Cohen/Grier (NU) def. #4 Thompson/Thompson (ND), 8-4
No. 2 - Buck/L. Connelly (ND) def. #36 Prousis/Roemer (NU) 8-7
No. 3 - Vladea/Esseghir (NU) def. Stastny/S.J. Connelly (ND), 9-7
Singles
No. 1 - #37 Catrina Thompson (ND) def. #3 Audra Cohen (NU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 - #16 Cristelle Grier (NU) def. Brook Buck (ND), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 3 - #66 Alexis Prousis (NU) def. Christian Thompson (ND), 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 - Valerie Vladea (NU) def. Lauren Connelly (ND), 6-0, 6-0
No. 5 - Andrea Yung (NU) def. Kristina Stastny (ND), 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (8)
No. 6 - Sarah Jane Connelly (ND) def. Alexis Conill (NU), 7-6 (5), 6-3
Order of finish for doubles: 1, 3, 2
Order of finish for singles: 4, 3, 1, 6, *2, 5
* denotes clincher
