Feb. 9, 2008

Results

MADISON, Wis. -- No. 3 Northwestern defeated No. 12 North Carolina 4-0 in the semifinals of the ITA Indoor Championships Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the 'Cats set up a rematch against defending NCAA champion Georgia Tech, which was the No. 1 team in the country before suffering a 6-1 defeat to the Wildcats on Feb. 2. The final is set to start at 11 a.m. Sunday.

The Wildcats have only lost one individual match at this year's Championship, making history by advancing to the finals of the ITA Indoors for the first time in school history. They also are the first Big Ten team to achieve this feat.

Against the Tar Heels, the 'Cats coasted to win the doubles point in quick fashion with victories at No. 2 and No. 3. At No. 2, Alexis Conill and Georgia Rose defeated the Tar Heels' Laura Reichert and Katrina Tsang, 8-3. The duo of Nazlie Ghazal and Maria Mosolova defeated Austin Smith and Meg Fanjoy at No. 3 with an 8-2 score.

No. 1 doubles was a battle of top-10 teams as Northwestern's seventh-ranked team of Lauren Lui and Samantha Murray took on UNC's eighth-ranked duo of Sanaz Marand and Sophie Grabinski. The 'Cats were up 7-5 before the match was halted when NU clinched the doubles point.

The Wildcats continued their strong play into singles as they made quick work of the Tar Heels. Sophomore Samantha Murray defeated Smith 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 to be the first one off the courts. Suzie Matzenauer followed soon after at No. 6 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over UNC's Fanjoy.

Nazlie Ghazal clinched it for the 'Cats at No. 5 singles with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over the Tar Heels' Laura Reichert. No. 2-ranked Wildcat Maria Mosolova was up 6-4, 4-1 over Katrina Tsang at No. 1 before the match was halted. At No. 2 singles, ninth-ranked Georgia Rose was up 6-4, 5-2 over the Heels' 14th-ranked Sanaz Marand and Lui was down 4-6, 3-5 to Jelena Durisic at No. 4 when play was abandoned.

Northwestern meets Georgia Tech in the final at 11 a.m. Sunday. Live scoring and information on the ITA Indoor Tennis Championship can be found at www.itatennis.com.

DOUBLES
1. Lauren Lui/Samantha Murray (NU) vs. Sanaz Marand/Sophie Grabinski (UNC), DNF 7-5
2. Alexis Conill/Georgia Rose (NU) def. Laura Reichert/Katrina Tsang (UNC), 8-3
3. Maria Mosolova/Nazlie Ghazal (NU) def. Austin Smith/ Meg Fanjoy (UNC), 8-2

SINGLES
1. Maria Mosolova (NU) vs. Katrina Tsang (UNC), DNF 6-4, 4-1
2. Georgia Rose (NU) vs. Sanaz Marand (UNC), DNF 6-4, 5-2
3. Samantha Murray (NU) def. Austin Smith (UNC), 6-1, 6-0
4. Lauren Lui (NU) vs. Jelena Durisic (UNC), DNF 6-4, 5-3
5. Nazlie Ghazal (NU) def. Laura Reichert (UNC) 6-0, 7-5
6. Suzie Matzenauer (NU) def. Meg Fanjoy (UNC), 6-0, 6-0