TThe University of Minnesota Women's Tennis Team defeated No. 17 Northwestern, 4-3, at the Baseline Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon. The victory moved the Golden Gophers into first-place in the Big Ten with a 6-1 record and snapped the Wildcats' 29-match league winning streak.
"Going into the match, I told our players that they needed to believe they could win," head coach Tyler Thomson said. "This team continues to amaze me. It was a total team effort."
For the second week in a row, senior Michaela Havelkova clinched both the doubles point and the match. Havelkova teamed with Brandi Watts to clinch the doubles point for Minnesota with an 8-6 win at No. 3 over Connie Chiang and Jamie Peisel.
With the match tied at three, Havelkova defeated Andrea Yung at No. 4 singles in three sets, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3. Havelkova finished the match with three straight breaks against Yung.
Freshman Nischela Reddy and junior Angela Buergis defeated Ruth Barnes and Yung at No. 2 doubles, 8-6, for the Golden Gophers' other victory.
Reddy claimed the win at No. 5 singles with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Barnes. Watts earned the other singles victory with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Kristi Roemer.
The Wildcats (13-7, 5-1) have won four Big Ten titles in a row and had not lost a league match since the 2000 season. The Golden Gophers moved into first place in the conference just one year after finishing last in the league with a 1-9 record.
Minnesota (13-5, 6-1) will travel to Indiana for a match against the Hoosiers next Sunday before finishing the regular season with home matches against Ohio State and Penn State.
#31 Minnesota 4, #17 Northwestern 3
Singles
No. 1 - Cristelle Grier (NW) def. Angela Buergis (MN), 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 - Jessica Rush (NW) def. Valerie Vladea (MN), 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 - Jamie Peisel (NW) def. Amy Thomas (MN), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 - Michaela Havelkova (MN) def. Andrea Yung (NW), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3
No. 5 - Nischela Reddy (MN) def. Ruth Barnes (NW), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 - Brandi Watts (MN) def. Kristi Roemer (NW), 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 - Grier/Rush (NW) def. Vladea/Thomas (MN), 8-3
No. 2 - Buergis/Reddy (MN) def. Barnes/Yung (NW), 8-6
No. 3 - Havelkova/Watts (MN) def. Peisel/Connie Chiang (NW), 8-6
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 1, 2, 5, 6, 3, 4
