2000 Big Ten Conference Women's Tennis Championship -- Match 10
4/30/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Women's Tennis Championship
Varsity Tennis Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Sunday, April 30 -- Championship Match
| Northwestern 4 No. 3 seed | | Minnesota 3 No. 4 seed |
Singles
No. 1 -- Nora Sauska (MN) d. Katherine Nasser, 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 -- Sandra Olsen (MN) d. Shannon Duffy, 7-6 (4), 7-5
No. 3 -- Colleen Cheng (NU) d. Kim Simonsen, 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 -- Lia Jackson (NU) d. Amy Thomas, 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 -- Marine Piriou (NU) d. Michaela Havelkova, 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 -- Jennifer Lutgert (NU) d. Tammy Wang, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (1)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Olsen/Havelkova (MN) d. Nasser/Cheng, 9-8 (5)
No. 2 -- Jackson/Piriou (NU) d. Simonsen/Wang, 8-4
No. 3 -- Sauska/Jenny Howard (MN) d. Duffy/Leigh Weinraub, 8-6
Match Summary
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: Big Ten Conference Women's Tennis Championship (Final)
Score: #17 Northwestern 4, Minnesota 3
Records: Northwestern (22-4), Minnesota (19-5)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- In a mentally and physically grueling championship final, the Northwestern University women's tennis team outlasted Minnesota 4-3 on Sunday afternoon (April 30) to claim the 2000 Big Ten Conference Championship held at Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center. The Wildcats (22-4) rallied with four singles wins after dropping the doubles point to the Golden Gophers (19-5), and claimed their second straight Big Ten title.
The match was clinched at No. 6 singles as Jennifer Lutgert pulled through in the third-set tie-break (7-1 score in the tie-break), winning the final two sets of the match after dropping the first set to Tammy Wang. Lutgert rallied for a 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) victory to claim the Wildcats' fourth Big Ten Conference title.
Minnesota earned the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots, while Northwestern earned an 8-4 win by Lia Jackson and Marine Piriou over Kim Simonsen and Tammy Wang at No. 2. Nora Sauska and Jenny Howard gained the Golden Gophers' first doubles win with an 8-6 victory over Shannon Duffy and Leigh Weinraub at No. 3. With the matches tied at one apiece, Minnesota and Northwestern went into a tie-break at No. 1 to decide the doubles point. The Golden Gophers' Sandra Olsen and Michaela Havelkova held on for a 7-5 win in the tie-break and a 9-8 match victory over the Wildcats' Katherine Nasser and Colleen Cheng.
Northwestern gained a quick 3-1 advantage to begin singles with three straight-set victories at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5. Colleen Cheng posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Kim Simonsen at No. 3, Lia Jackson registered a dominating 6-1, 6-1 victory against Amy Thomas at No. 4 and Marine Piriou collected a 6-1, 6-1 win over Michaela Havelkova at No. 5.
The Golden Gophers pulled the match close with a pair of singles victories at the top two spots. Nora Sauska defeated Katherine Nasser with a 6-3, 6-2 match at the No. 1 spot. Sandra Olsen tallied a 7-6, 7-5 victory over Shannon Duffy at No. 2 to even the match score at three apiece. Jennifer Lutgert completed the final with the three-set victory and ended the five hour and 30 minute championship match.
