University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Northwestern
Players Mentioned
Gophers Bested by #6 Northwestern 5-2
3/26/2021 5:45:00 PM | Tennis
Dalila Said and Ekin Ercetin picked up singles victories in the loss.
Minneapolis, MN. - The Gophers return to Baseline was spoiled by the #6 ranked Wildcats on Friday. The highest ranked team in the Big Ten took down the Gophers 5-2. Minnesota (3-9) moves to 2-3 at Baseline, while Northwestern (15-2) moves to 12-1 in Big Ten play.Â
Doubles Play
The Gophers struggled in doubles play, losing 2-0 on clinch. The pairings of Rachel Hanford & Dalila Said and Zeyneb Sarioglan & River Hart both fell in their respective matches 6-3.Â
Singles Play
The Wildcats pounced early in singles play with straight set victories on courts three, six, one and two to take a 5-0 and secure the match victory. #70 Rachel Hanford fell to #89 Maria Shusharina in her first singles match post-rankings.Â
On court five, Erin Ercetin battled back after dropping the first set to get the Gophers on the board versus previously top-125 ranked Julie Byrne. On court four, Dalila Said picked up one of the biggest singles victories of her career over #65 Clarissa Hand. Said also dropped the first set, but battled back to win the singles match in a third set tiebreaker. Hand was previously 10-2 in singles play and 9-0 in the third singles position.Â
Quotable
"Northwestern is one of the top teams in the country and we battled until the end," said head coach Catrina Thompson. "Dalila [Said] and Ekin [Ercetin] had two good wins for us in singles, but now we have to get ready for Illinois on Sunday."
Notable
-Dalila Said picked up her first career ranked singles victory.
-Ekin Ercetin picked up team-best ninth singles win.
Up Next
Minnesota is back in action Sunday Mar. 28 at home against Illinois. The match is scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. start.Â
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Results
Doubles
1. Julie Byrne/Briana Crowley (NUW) def. Rachel Hanford/Dalila Said (MINN) 6-3
2. Ekin Ercetin/Juliet Zhang (MINN) vs. Christina Hand/Clarissa Hand (NUW) 3-4, unfinished
3. Hannah McColgan/Caroline Pozo (NUW) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan/River Hart (MINN) 6-3
Order of finish: 1,3
Singles
1. #89 Maria Shusharina (NUW) def. #70 Rachel Hanford (MINN) 6-2, 6-4
2. Ekin Ercetin (MINN) def. Julie Byrne (NUW) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (11-9)
3. Dalila Said (MINN) def. #65 Clarissa Hand (NUW) 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)
4. Briana Crowley (NUW) def. River Hart (MINN) 6-1, 6-2
5. Caroline Pozo (NUW) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) 7-5, 6-1
6. Christina Hand (NUW) def. Juliet Zhang (MINN) 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 4,1,6,5,2,3