May 9, 2008
Results
Evanston, Ill. - The UIC women's tennis team was defeated by No. 1 Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA tournament on a chilly Friday afternoon.
The Flames played aggressive against the Wildcats, but were outmatched as Northwestern claimed first and second doubles matches. Georgia Rose and Lauren Lui defeated Ilinca Cristescu and Kristen McPhillips at the No. 1 position, and Grace Gill-Morlis and Ulrikke von Ubisch were bested by Samantha Murray and Suzie Matzenauer in the second slot.
The third doubles duo of Amy Jellish and Jamie Reisch played right along with Maria Mosolova and Keri Robison as the Flames were down 4-3 when their match was suspended.
With the doubles point in hand, the Wildcats needed three singles matches to clinch the victory and move on to the second round. UIC did not roll over easily, as all competitors played smart matches against their opponents.
Cristescu, playing in the top singles position against Maria Mosolova, the fourth-ranked player in the country, showed the poise of a veteran player, getting into long rallies and making smart shots.
Amy Jellish, playing up at the fourth position, went up two games on No. 55 Lauren Lui in her first set before the game was abandoned.
The Flames cap the 2008 season with a 16-6 record, and was the 10th season in a row that UIC advanced to the NCAA tournament.
