May 12, 2007

Results

EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the seventh time in head coach Claire Pollard's nine seasons -- and for the fourth-straight year -- the Wildcats are headed to the NCAA round of 16. The fifth-ranked 'Cats took the doubles point and three straight-set singles wins to defeat 24th-ranked Indiana Saturday at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center, 4-1. NU faces 12th-seeded UCLA in the round of 16 at 8 a.m. CT Friday.

NU faces 12th-seeded UCLA on Friday, May 18, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. The Wildcats defeated the Bruins, 5-2, earlier this season at the ITA Indoor Championships. UCLA defeated Florida State, 4-2, to advance out of the second round.

The win improves Northwestern to 23-4 on the year while Indiana ends its season with a 21-7 record.

Although a sharp chill filled the air at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center and winds continued to cause havoc on the courts, a sun-filled sky made conditions for Saturday's second-round match significantly more tame than the previous day of competition.

Northwestern captured the doubles point in convincing fashion -- exacting revenge from their last meeting with Indiana when the Hoosiers took the first point of the dual -- with wins at No. 1 and No. 3.

It was not easy for the Wildcats at the start as Indiana stayed within striking distance in the early stages of the three doubles matches.

At No. 3, Samantha Murray (Altrincham, England/Altrincham Grammar) and Alexis Conill (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) took a 2-0 lead on Indiana's Brianna Williams and Erin Clark, but the Hoosiers battled back to take a 4-3 advantage when they broke the 'Cats' serve. Murray and Conill broke to even the match at 4-4 and rolled from there. The Wildcats won the next four games to take the 8-4 win.

Ninth-ranked Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) and Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) found themselves in an early 3-0 hole to Indiana's Alba Berdala and Laura McGaffigan, but the pair of Wildcats would only surrender one more game in their 8-4 win over the pair of Hoosiers who defeated them earlier in the season. The win sealed the doubles point and gave NU a 1-0 lead.

The No. 2 match between Keri Robison (Decatur, Ill./Keystone National) and Lauren Lui (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) and Indiana's Sigrid Fischer and Cecile Perton was abandoned with the Wildcats leading 7-4. The pair fell behind 1-0, but after tying the score at 1-1 by holding serve, never surrendered the lead.

A trio of Wildcats leapt out to early advantages on their singles courts to place NU in firm control of Saturday's NCAA second-round dual. At No. 6, sophomore Nazlie Ghazal (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) continued her torrid play with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Lindsey Stuckey.

The sophomore used a plethora of passing shots, including a strong forehand winner to go up 3-0 in the first set, to overpower the Hoosier. Ghazal has won her last 14 singles matches and is 34-8 overall.

Prousis, who captured the clincher for the 'Cats on Friday against Western Michigan, dominated Fischer at No. 3, 6-0, 6-1.

The clincher came at No. 4 where Lui defeated Williams in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Lui took an early 5-1 lead in the first set, and after surrendering her second game, used a cross-court backhand winner on set point to take the first frame. Lui's forehand winner down the line gave NU a berth in the NCAA round of 16.

At No. 2, Murray fell to Laura McGaffigan, 6-3, 6-3.

Robison was up 6-3, 3-3 at No. 5 when her match was abandoned. Rose trailed Berdala at No. 1, 6-2, 3-3 when their match was stopped.

NU faces 12th-seeded UCLA in the round of 16 at 8 a.m. CT Friday, May 18, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia.

"We are certainly not satisfied with making it this far," Pollard said. "This is just one of many steps we were hoping to take this year and we've got four more wins to go."

For complete information about the 2007 NCAA Championships, visit the 2007 NCAA Championships Homepage.

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