University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Stumble at Northwestern
2/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
The University of Minnesota women's tennis team took to the road for the third time this year when they opened up Big Ten competition at No. 23 Northwestern this afternoon.
The Gophers were dealt a 7-0 loss to fall to 1-2 on the season. They play a road match tomorrow at Marquette before heading back to Minneapolis for their home-opener at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 11 against Oklahoma.
Coach Tyler Thompson switched up his doubles order for today's match, putting his team of freshmen Natallia Pintusava and Yuliana Umanets at the No. 1 position. They had previously played No. 2 doubles in both matches earlier this season. Their match was the closest of the three, as they fell 8-6 to the 30th-ranked tandem of Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton.
In singles, the Wildcats boasted ranked players at the No. 1-4 positions and won all six matches in straight sets. Pintusava, who is ranked No. 51, lost 6-3, 6-3 to No. 52 Maria Mosolova at first singles. Senior Alessandra Ferrazzi fell 6-1, 6-3 to 66th-ranked Brittany Wowchuk, while Umanets dropped a 6-3, 6-3 decision to No. 120 Kate Turvy.
No. 76 Belinda Niu topped Alexa Palen 6-1, 6-1 at the fourth position, while Magdalena Wiecha lost 6-3, 6-0 to Stacey Lee at No. 5 singles. Sophomore Doron Muravnik made her season debut today, but was defeated 6-3, 6-0 by Abu Mushrefova.
No. 23 Northwestern 7, No. 71 Minnesota 0
Singles:
1: #52 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. #51 Natallia Pintusava (MN), 6-3, 6-3
2: #66 Brittany Wowchuk (NU) def. Alessandra Ferrazzi (MN), 6-1, 6-3
3: #120 Kate Turvy (NU) def. Yuliana Umanets (MN), 6-3, 6-3
4: #76 Belinda Niu (NU) def. Alexa Palen (MN), 6-1, 6-1
5: Stacey Lee (NU) def. Magdalena Wiecha (MN), 6-3, 6-0
6: Linda Abu Mushrefova (NU) def. Doron Muravnik (MN), 6-3, 6-0
Doubles:
1: #30 Abu Mushrefova/Hamilton (NU) def. Pintusava/Umanets (MN), 8-6
2: Chernyakova/Wowchuk (NU) def. #84 Ferrazzi/Palen (MN), 8-3
3: Mosolova/Niu (NU) def. Spilca/Wiecha (MN), 8-4
Order of Finish:
Singles (6, 4, 2*, 5, 1, 3)
Doubles (2, 3*, 1)
