University of Minnesota women's tennis player Ashley Schellhas posted a big upset today in the 53rd-ranked Golden Gophers' 5-2 loss at ninth-ranked Northwestern. Nationally unranked in singles, Schellhas upended 29th-ranked Samantha Murray for one of two Minnesota wins on the day. The Golden Gophers (9-9, 2-5 Big Ten) went 0-3 in doubles play and 2-4 in singles action to see their two-match winning streak come to an end.
The Wildcats opened the day with a sweep of three doubles matches. After an 8-1 NU win at No. 3, Alexis Prousis and Suzie Matzenauer downed Tijana Koprivica and Ida Malmberg 8-2 at No. 2 to pick up the doubles point. Northwestern wrapped up the sweep at No. 1 with Lauren Lui and Keri Robison's 8-4 victory at No. 1.
In singles play, the Wildcats cruised to the dual win with three quick straight set victories at Nos. 2, 5 and 6. Northwestern then made it 5-0 at No. 3 with 113th-ranked Lui's 2-6, 6-0, 1-0 (12-10) win over Ida Malmberg.
The Golden Gophers got on the board at No. 4 when Lindsay Risebrough edged Robison, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6). With the win, Risebrough improved to 3-4 in the Big Ten this season.
Schellhas closed out the dual with her upset of 29th-ranked Murray at No. 1 singles. A senior transfer from Vanderbilt, Schellhas won the first set 6-4 before Murray struck back with a 6-4 second set. In the match tiebreaker, Schellhas prevailed with a 10-7 score. With the win, Schellhas improved to 12-6 in duals this spring, including a 5-2 mark in Big Ten action. The victory was Schellhas' first over a ranked opponent this season.
The Maroon and Gold wraps up the road portion of its schedule tomorrow at 12 p.m., at Wisconsin. Minnesota returns home next weekend to close out the regular season with duals against Purdue and Illinois on April 21-22. The Golden Gophers then host the 2007 Big Ten Women's Tennis Championship on Thursday-Sunday, April 26-29 at the Baseline Tennis Center. Admission is free to the conference tournament.
#53 Minnesota at #9 Northwestern
April 14, 2007
Evanston, Ill.
Singles
1. Ashley Schellhas (MINN) def. #29 Samantha Murray (NU), 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
2. Alexis Prousis (NU) def. Tijana Koprivica (MINN), 6-2, 6-1
3. #113 Lauren Lui (NU) def. Ida Malmberg (MINN), 2-6, 6-0, 1-0 (12-10)
4. Lindsay Risebrough (MINN) def. Keri Robison (NU), 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
5. Nazlie Ghazal (NU) def. Karina Chiarelli (MINN), 6-0, 6-0
6. Suzie Matzenauer (NU) def. Mikayla Rogers (MINN), 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 5,6,2,3,4,1
Doubles
1. Lui/ Robison (NU) def. Risebrough/Schellhas (MINN), 8-4
2. Prousis/Matzenauer (NU) def. Koprivica/Malmberg (MINN) 8-2
3. Alexis Conill/Samantha Murray (NU) def. Rogers/Chiarelli (MINN) 8-1
Order of finish: 3,2,1
#9 Northwestern def. #53 Minnesota, 5-2
