Michigan
Northwestern
Wolverines Fall to Northwestern in Big Ten Quarterfinals
4/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team was eliminated from competition at the 22nd annual Big Ten Championship Friday afternoon (April 25), losing a 4-0 match against 19th-ranked and second-seeded Northwestern at the University of Illinois' Atkins Tennis Center. The Wolverines (13-9, 6-6 Big Ten) were unable to gain a point against the four-time defending Big Ten champion Wildcats (17-8, 9-2 Big Ten).
Northwestern captured the doubles point with victories at No. 1 and No. 3. Jamie Peisel and Stacy Kokx starting things for the Wildcats with an 8-2 victory over senior co-captain Joanne Musgrove (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich HS) and junior Kim Plaushines (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) at the third slot. Northwestern's 10th-ranked doubles pairing of Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush clinched the team point with an 8-6 win against sophomores Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) at the top spot. The match at No. 2 was abandoned with the score tied at five apiece after the Wildcats secured the 1-0 advantage.
NU closed out the victory with three-straight set singles victories. Rush, ranked 72nd nationally in singles, posted a 6-1, 6-0 victory against junior Chrissie Nolan (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS). The Wildcats' 112th-ranked Andrea Yung followed with a 6-1, 6-1 win over junior Kavitha Tipirneni (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby HS) at No. 4, and Kokx secured Northwestern's semifinal appearance with a 7-6(5), 6-3 victory against freshman Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) at No. 6. The final three matches were abandoned once the outcome was decided, with the Wolverines holding their only advantage at No. 5 (Plaushines won the opening set against Ruth Barnes and was tied 4-4 in the second set).
Michigan will await the selection process for the 2003 NCAA Championship. The Women's Tennis Selection Show will air Wednesday (April 30, 4:30 p.m. EDT) on ESPNews.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #11 Cristelle Grier (NU) vs. #106 Michelle DaCosta, 6-2, 2-4 -- abandoned
No. 2 -- #72 Jessica Rush (NU) d. Chrissie Nolan, 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 -- Jamie Peisel (NU) vs. Leanne Rutherford, 7-5, 4-2 -- abandoned
No. 4 -- #112 Andrea Yung (NU) d. Kavitha Tipirneni, 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 -- Kim Plaushines (U-M) vs. Ruth Barnes, 6-0, 4-4 -- abandoned
No. 6 -- Stacy Kokx (NU) d. Debra Streifler, 7-6(5), 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- #10 Grier/Rush (NU) d. DaCosta/Rutherford, 8-6
No. 2 -- Barnes/Yung (NU) vs. Nolan/Streifler, 5-5 -- abandoned
No. 3 -- Peisel/Kokx (NU) d. Plaushines/Joanne Musgrove, 8-2
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
