Feb. 27, 2010
WATERLOO, Iowa – Sophomore Emily Rogers won her third-straight singles match, and the Northern Illinois women’s tennis team captured the decisive doubles point, en route to a 4-3 victory over host Northern Iowa Friday night at the Black Hawk Tennis Club.
Freshman Kelly Phillips and senior Stephanie Okuma cruised to straight-set victories at the No. 5 and 6 singles positions, respectively, to help the Huskies defeat the Panthers, who were 29-8 at home over the last three seasons.
“There was no quit in the team tonight,” said NIU head coach Ryun Ferrell. “I could not be more proud of this group. Northern Iowa kept coming at us and we never let up. UNI is a quality program and this is a great win.”
The Huskies (3-4) took the doubles point from the Panthers after regulation wins at both the No. 1 and No. 2 flights. Brooke Forsberg and Rogers, playing together for the fourth time at the top pairing, posted a hard-fought, 9-7 win over Sampada Kanade and Talia Jang-Stewart. The duo has won three-straight No. 1-doubles matches.
At No. 2 doubles, Kathryn Friedlund and Sara McLaughlin secured the doubles point for the Huskies with an 8-5 victory over Laia Gonzalez-Garrido and Jessica Kunzelmann. The duo has won two-straight matches and is now 3-3 overall at the No. 2 pairing during the spring campaign.
Phillps and Okuma, playing together for the first time this season, battled tough but ultimately dropped an 8-5 decision at the No. 3 doubles position.
Northern Iowa won three of the top four singles flights, but NIU secured the victory with wins at the Nos. 2, 5 and 6 positions.
Rogers, playing at the No. 2 position for the first time since Jan. 23, dropped the first set but battled back to post a 1-6, 7-6, 7-6 win over Gonzalez. Rogers come-from-behind victory was her third of the spring campaign, tying her with freshman Brittni Fausett for the team-lead.
Phillips’ 6-2, 6-1 victory over Stefannia Sampaio was her second-straight win at the No. 5 singles position. At No. 6 singles, Okuma dominated in collecting her first win of the spring campaign with a 6-1, 6-1 decision over Katy Delagardelle.
NIU seeks its fourth-straight victory tomorrow at 11 a.m., when the Huskies take on South Dakota at the Black Hawk Tennis Center in Waterloo, Iowa.
- NIU -
Women's Tennis Match Results
Northern Illinois at Northern Iowa
February 26, 2010
Black Hawk Tennis Club
Waterloo, Iowa
Northern Illinois 4, Northern Iowa 3
Doubles –
No. 1: Forsberg/Rogers (NIU) def. Kanade/Stewart (UNI) 9-7
No. 2: Friedlund/McLaughlin (NIU) def. Gonzalez/Kunzelmann (UNI) 8-5
No. 3: Walker/Sampaio (UNI) def. Phillips/Okuma (NIU) 8-5
Singles –
No. 1: Walker (UNI) def. Freidlund (NIU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 2: Rogers (NIU) def. Gonzalez (UNI) 1-6, 7-6, 7-6
No. 3: Kanade (UNI) def. Fausett (NIU) 7-5, 6-3
No. 4: Kunzelmann (UNI) def. McLaughlin (NIU) 6-7, 7-6, 6-4
No. 5: Phillips (NIU) def. Sampaio (UNI) 6-2, 6-1
No. 6: Okuma (NIU) def. Delagardelle (UNI) 6-1, 6-1
