University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Northwestern
Players Mentioned
Gophers Defeated by #7 Wildcats 6-1
2/26/2021 8:24:00 PM | Tennis
Evanston, IL. - The Gophers opened their road trip against the No. 7 ranked Wildcats. The Friday matchup saw Northwestern take down the Gophers 6-1.
Minnesota (0-4) drop their first four B1G matches for the first time since the 2010-2011 season. Northwestern (8-1) continue their hot stretch of play. They move to 4-0 in the Big Ten.
The Gophers dropped the doubles point 2-0 on clinch. Dalila Said and Ekin Ercetin's match against the #47 doubles pair in the country Julie Byrne and Hannah McColgan went unfinished.
In singles play, sophomore Dalila Said faced her highest ranked opponent of the year in #57 Julie Byrne. Byrne put the Wildcat's up 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
The Wildcats went on to win the next three singles matches to clinch the victory. The last two singles matches both went to a third set. The third set in each matchup was decided on a single game that was the first to ten points. Ekin Ercetin dropped her third set tiebreaker 10-4. Rachel Hanford was the sole victor for Minnesota. She improves to 3-1 in singles play in her B1G career.
"Northwestern is a tough top ten team," said head coach Catrina Thompson. "Rachel [Hanford] finished her match strong winning at the top of the lineup and Lucia [de Santa Ana] and Erin [Ercetin] battled hard and lost two tight matches. We need to reset and get ready for Illinois on Sunday."
Minnesota is back in action Sunday Feb. 28 on the road against Illinois. The match is scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. start.
Doubles
1. #47 Julie Byrne/Hannah McColgan (NUW) vs. Dalila Said/Ekin Ercetin (MINN) 3-2, unfinished
2. Briana Crowley/Christina Hand (NUW) def. Lucia De Santa Ana/Rachel Hanford (MINN) 5-2
3. Maria Shusharina/Clarissa Hand (NUW) def. Juliet Zhang/River Hart (MINN) 6-1
Order of finish: 3,2
Singles
1. Rachel Hanford (MINN) def. Maria Shusharina (NUW) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 1-0 (11-9)
2. #57 Julie Byrne (NUW) def. Dalila Said (MINN) 6-1, 6-0
3. Clarissa Hand (NUW) def. Ekin Ercetin (MINN) 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 1-0 (10-4)
4. Briana Crowley (NUW) def. Lucia De Santa Ana (MINN) 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
5. Caroline Pozo (NUW) def. River Hart (MINN) 6-3, 6-0
6. Christina Hand (NUW) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 2,5,6,4,3,1