April 26, 2008

Final Stats

Women's Big Ten Championship Bracket

Northwestern Big Ten Championship Match Notes

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Northwestern won in a 4-0 sweep over No. 4-seeded Illinois Saturday at the Schwartz Tennis Center. With the win, the Wildcats advance to the championship match at 11 a.m. Sunday in search of their record-breaking 10th-consecutive Big Ten title.

Northwestern will face No. 2-seeded Michigan in the title match Sunday. The 'Cats defeated the Wolverines in the title match last season, 4-0. During the regular season, the Wildcats defeated Michigan, 5-2.

The 'Cats swept the doubles point from Illinois, securing a 1-0 match lead. At No. 3, Suzie Matzenauer (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine) and Samantha Murray (Altrincham, England/Altrincham Grammar) fought back from an early deficit to take an 8-5 victory. Nazlie Ghazal (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) and Maria Mosolova (Moscow, Russia/No. 204) cruised to an 8-3 win at No. 3, securing the doubles sweep of the Fighting Illini. The match at No. 1 with Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) and Lauren Lui (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) was abandoned.

The Wildcats brought their domination to the singles courts. Northwestern took a 2-0 match lead when Suzie Matzenauer picked up her second singles victory of the tournament, demolishing her opponent at No. 6, 6-1, 6-1. With the win, Matzenauer earns her 23rd dual victory this season, the most among the 'Cats.

Maria Mosolova took a, 6-2, 6-2, victory at No. 1, giving the Wildcats a 3-0 advantage on the afternoon. She also earned her second win of the weekend and improved to 35-4 (.897%) overall this season.

Nazlie Ghazal won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 6, clinching the 4-0 match victory over Illinois. Ghazal gets her 13th-straight singles victory and improved to 21-3 in dual play this season.

With Saturday's win, the Wildcats extend their conference unbeaten streak to 62 matches. Next up, the 'Cats compete for the record-breaking 10th-straight Big Ten crown. They will face Michigan on Sunday on the brink of making history.

The Big Ten Championship is taking place in West Lafayette, Ind. at Purdue University. The event runs through this weekend, with the tournament concluding at the Schwartz Tennis Center for the conference championship match. Northwestern and Michigan will face-off at 11 a.m. Sunday, April 27 for the title.

For additional tournament information including brackets, schedules and live match statistics, please visit Purdue's Big Ten Women's Tennis Championship homepage.

Here is a look at the top-seeded Wildcats' journey to the title match:

First-Round: Bye
Second-Round: No. 1 Northwestern 4, No. 8 Minnesota 0
Third-Round: No. 1 Northwestern 4, No. 4 Illinois 0
Championship Match: No. 1 Northwestern vs. No. 2. Michigan

Singles competition

1. #4 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. Megan Fudge (ILL) 6-2, 6-2
2. #8 Georgia Rose (NU) vs. Leigh Finnegan (ILL) 6-1, 4-6, unfinished
3. #30 Sam Murray (NU) vs. Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL) 2-6, 6-1, 1-2, unfinished
4. #50 Lauren Lui (NU) vs. Shivani Dave (ILL) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished
5. Nazlie Ghazal (NU) def. Kristina Minor (ILL) 6-3, 6-2
6. Suzie Matzenauer (NU) def. Momei Qu (ILL) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. #18 Lauren Lui/Georgia Rose (NU) vs. Shivani Dave/Megan Fudge (ILL) 4-5, unfinished
2. Suzie Matzenauer/Sam Murray (NU) def. Leigh Finnegan/Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL) 8-5
3. Nazlie Ghazal/Maria Mosolova (NU) def. Annie McCarthy/Kristina Minor (ILL) 8-3

Match Notes

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (6,1,5)
Big Ten Championship - Third Round
No. 1 Northwestern vs. No. 4 Illinois
T-2:25

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