Northwestern
Illinois
Senior Day Sweep, 'Cats Beat Illinois, 7-0
4/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 17, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - In the final home dual match of their careers, Wildcat seniors Kristi Roemer, Valerie Vladea and Andrea Yung went out in style. Roemer won at No. 2 doubles, Vladea and Yung each won in singles and Northwestern clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title by sweeping intra-state rival Illinois, 7-0.
The `Cats improve to 20-2 overall and 9-0 in the conference. Indiana still has an outside chance to share the conference title, but a win next weekend at Ohio State will put NU in sole possession of the Big Ten crown.
Roemer and Alexis Prousis took care of Illinois' Harkins and Knue, 8-6, helping Northwestern sweep the doubles point for the 12th time this year. Early on, the duo looked as though they may send Roemer out with a flawless victory as they shot ahead, 4-0. The Illini slowly battled back though, cutting the lead to 5-2. The `Cats inched closer to their 16th victory on the year by claiming the next two games to hold a 7-2 lead. Harkins and Knue would not go away though. They won the next fours games to cut the lead to 7-6, making Roemer and Prousis sweat a little bit. Roemer halted the Illini's push by ripping a forehand that nipped back line to get the `Cats to match point. There, Prousis' slicing backhand brought a brilliant volley to a close, improving the duo's record to 16-4.
During the intermission, Head Coach Claire Pollard honored her three seniors, presenting each with a gift on Court 1. Afterwards, the `Cats picked up right where they left off.
In singles competition, Yung continued her magnificent senior year by notching yet another straight-set win at No. 5 to improve to 10-0 in duals. Eight of those 10 victories have come in straight sets. She improves to 19-4 overall and will get a shot at hitting the 20-win mark for the third time in her career next weekend at Ohio State.
Vladea continued to be especially stingy at the No. 4 slot. She defeated Brianna Knue, 6-0, 6-1 to improve her overall record to 29-8, 18-3 in duals. Almost more impressively, Vladea only dropped a total of three games in her past three matches.
While Sunday was dubbed "Senior Day," the veterans were not the only `Cats to put their stamp on the day. Freshman Audra Cohen made history by recording her 41st overall victory of the season to become NU's new single-season wins record-holder. After dropping the first game of her match against Cynthia Goulet, Cohen recovered and claimed the first set easily, 6-3.
The second set was a different story though. Goulet found her groove and put Cohen in a 4-2 hole. The Wildcat's freshman-phenom responded by winning the next three games to reclaim the lead. Then, after being tied at 5-5 and 6-6, the two moved to a tiebreak. There, Cohen fed off the crowd and shot out to a 6-1 lead. At matchpoint, she peppered Goulet with a series of rockets before showing her versatility by ending the match with a nifty drop shot.
Cristelle Grier and Alexis Prousis both continued to roll along in singles, as well. Each has won her last 13 matches, 12 of which have been wrapped up in straight sets. Prousis' win at No. 3 was her 30th of the year, making that the second-straight year she has reached the mark. Grier improved her team-leading dual record to 20-2.
In doubles, Cohen and Grier defeated Goulet and Want, 8-1, improving their winning streak to 16. Vladea and Feriel Esseghir won their fifth in a row at No. 3 by beating Qu and Akritas, 8-3.
Alexis Conill completed the 7-0 sweep for the `Cats by turning in a courageous effort at No. 6 singles. Down 5-4 in the opening set, the freshman won the next three games to claim the first set. Cuadra put Conill in a 2-1 hole to start the second set. Then, the sky opened up. Light rain briefly postponed the match, but the two resumed play on Court 4 after about 15 minutes. Conill and Cuadra were tied at 6-6 and the Wildcats won her the fourth Big Ten match of her career with a gutsy 7-4 win in the tiebreak.
Northwestern concludes the regular season Saturday, April 23 at Ohio State.
#3 Northwestern 7, #54 Illinois 0
Doubles
No. 1 - #1 Cohen/Grier (NU) def. Goulet/Wang (ILL), 8-1
No. 2 - #36 Prousis/Roemer (NU) def. Harkins/Knue (ILL), 8-6
No. 3 - Vladea/Esseghir (NU) def. Qu/Akritas (ILL), 8-3
Singles
No. 1 - #3 Audra Cohen (NU) def. #41 Cynthia Goulet (ILL), 6-3, 7-6 (1)
No. 2 - #16 Cristelle Grier (NU) def. Macall Harkins (ILL), 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 - #66 Alexis Prousis (NU) def. Momei Qu (ILL), 6-1, 6-4
No. 4 - Valerie Vladea (NU) def. Brianna Knue (ILL), 6-0, 6-1
No. 5 - Andrea Yung (NU) def. Emily Wang (ILL), 6-3, 6-0
No. 6 - Alexis Conill (NU) def. Alejandra Cuadra (ILL), 7-5, 7-6 (4)
Order of finish for doubles: 1, 3, 2
Order of finish for singles: 4, 3, *5, 1, 2, 6
* denotes clincher
Players Mentioned
