University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Illinois
Players Mentioned
Gophers Fall 4-3 in Heartbreaker to Illinois
3/28/2021 2:23:00 PM | Tennis
The second-to-last home match of the season came down to the final singles match.
Minneapolis, MN. - The Gophers fell in a thrilling 4-3 match that came down to the third set of the final singles match. Minnesota (3-10) dropped their fourth straight match, while Illinois (6-7) moves to 6-3 since the first time these teams met.
Doubles Play
The Gophers showed heart right from first serve as the team battled back from early deficits to take the doubles point. After trailing 1-0 in doubles play, the pairings of Hanford & Said and Ercetin & Zhang both scrapped out doubles victories of 7-5 and 6-4 respectively.
Singles Play
The Gophers got off to a quick start in singles play and took the opening set in four out of six matches. After Illinois evened the match with a victory on court four, Rachel Hanford returned to her winning ways with a 6-2, 6-3 victory to put the 'U' back on top.
After Illinois took the match on court 3, the overall result would come down to the final three singles matches. Formerly ranked Asuka Kawai battled back and edged Ekin Ercetin in three sets to put the Illini up 3-2. Senior Juliet Zhang came up clutch for the Maroon & Gold with a straight-set victory on court one. With the match even at 3-3, freshman Zeyneb Sarioglan fell in a three-set battle to Sasha Belaya 6-3, 4-6, 3-6 to give Illinois the 4-3 win.
Notable
-Rachel Hanford and Dalila Said moved to 5-2 as a doubles pairing.
-Ekin Ercetin appeared in the #1 singles position for the first time this season.
-Rachel Hanford secured her team-high ninth singles victory (Ekin Ercetin also has nine).
Up Next
Minnesota is back in action Friday Apr. 9 on the road against #9 Ohio State. The match is scheduled for a 11:00 a.m. start.
Results
Doubles
1. Rachel Hanford/Dalila Said (MINN) def. Josie Frazier/Asuka Kawai (ILL) 7-5
2. Ekin Ercetin/Juliet Zhang (MINN) def. Sasha Belaya/Emilee Duong (ILL) 6-4
3. Ashley Yeah/Kate Duong (ILL) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan/Lucia De Santa Ana (MINN) 6-4
Order of finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. Asuka Kawai (ILL) def. Ekin Ercetin (MINN) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
2. #70 Rachel Hanford (MINN) def. Kate Duong (ILL) 6-2, 6-3
3. Emilee Duong (ILL) def. Dalila Said (MINN) 6-1, 6-2
4. Ashley Yeah (ILL) def. Lucia De Santa Ana (MINN) 6-4, 6-1
5. Sasha Belaya (ILL) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
6. Juliet Zhang (MINN) def. Josie Frazier (ILL) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 3,2,4,1,6,5