Feb. 7, 2009
ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Northern Illinois women's tennis team (2-2) picked up the decisive doubles point, and recorded four wins in singles play, cruising to a 5-2 dual-match win over in-state rival Eastern Illinois at the Clocktower Resort Saturday afternoon.
"Today was a solid day for us overall, because we showed improvement from last weekend, and that's what we were looking for," said NIU head coach Ryun Ferrell. "It was good to win the doubles point, and some of that momentum certainly carried over to singles play.
"One of the things I was really pleased with was the fact that our freshmen really showed me something today. As they are starting to learn, in college tennis, you aren't able to always play the way you would like to, or the way you are accustomed to. Sometimes you need to play ugly tennis to win, and they were both able to grind out victories today."
The Huskies picked up the decisive doubles point by recording pro-set wins at both the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Nao Umemura and Brooke Forsberg defeated EIU's top doubles tandem by a score of 8-2, while Kathryn Friedlund and Emily Rogers upended the Panthers' Shannon Brooks and Juliana Frey, 8-1, at No. 3.
NIU captured four singles matches to secure the win. At No. 1, Lilian Asuaje posted a 6-2, 7-5 win over EIU's Amanda Dibbs, followed by respective wins by the Panthers at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles slots.
At the fourth singles flight, NIU's Martina Schnapp recorded a straight-set (6-1, 6-1) win over Eastern's Abby Allgire. Emily Rogers outlasted the Panthers' Annie Egan (3-6, 6-2, 6-0) at No. 5 singles, and NIU's Sara McLaughlin recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 6 singles.
The Huskies will host Southern Illinois Sunday at Clocktower beginning at 1 p.m. It will mark the season-opening dual-match for the Salukis.
Tennis Match Results
Northern Illinois vs. Eastern Illinois
2/7/2009 at Rockford, Ill.
(Clocktower Resort)
Northern Illinois - 5
Eastern Illinois - 2
Doubles:
No. 1: Nao Umemura/Brooke Forsberg (NIU) def. Hayley Homburg/Cara Huck (EIU), 8-2
No. 2: Amanda Dibbs/Abby Allgire (EIU) def. Sara McLaughlin/Lilian Asuaje (NIU), 8-2
No. 3: Kathryn Friedlund/Emily Rogers (NIU) def. Shannon Brooks/Juliana Frey (EIU), 8-1
Singles:
No. 1: Lilian Asuaje (NIU) def. Amanda Dibbs, 6-2, 7-5
No. 2: Cara Huck (EIU) def. Kathryn Friedlund (NIU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
No. 3: Hayley Homburg (EIU) def. Martina Schnapp (NIU), 6-4, 6-0
No. 4: Nao Umemura (NIU) def. Abby Allgire (EIU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 5: Emily Rogers (NIU) def. Annie Egan (EIU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
No. 6: Sara McLaughlin (NIU) def. Shannon Brooks (EIU), 6-3, 6-4
