University of Minnesota women's tennis player Ashley Schellhas posted her second upset of the weekend of a top-30 singles play in the 53rd-ranked Golden Gophers' 4-3 win at Wisconsin today in Madison, Wis. Nationally unranked in singles, Schellhas upended 23rd-ranked Caitlin Burke a day after downing 29th-ranked Samantha Murray of Northwestern. Against the Badgers, the Golden Gophers (10-9, 3-5 Big Ten) went 1-2 in doubles play and 4-2 in singles action to earn their most conference wins in a season since capturing the 2003 Big Ten Regular Season Championship with a 9-1 record.
Wisconsin (4-15, 0-9) opened the dual with a 2-1 showing in doubles action to earn the early 1-0 lead. Minnesota got on the board at No. 3 with Karina Chiarelli and Jackie Sperling's 8-2 win over Kim Roberts and Chelsea Nusslock. The victory was the Golden Gopher duo's first in the dual season.
The Badgers bounced back at No. 2 with Kaylan Caiati and Nicole Beck edging Tijana Koprivica and Ida Malmberg, 8-6, setting up the deciding match at No. 1. The 54th-ranked Wisconsin duo of Burke and Liz Carpenter had a 6-3 lead over Lindsay Risebrough and Schellhas before the Gopher pair rattled off three straight points to knot the score at six. Wisconsin again took a one point advantage at 7-6 and 8-7, but Minnesota came back both times tie the scores at 7-7 and 8-8. In the tiebreaker, UW got out to a quick 4-0 lead and closed out the Gophers, 9-8 (7-3) for the doubles point.
The Maroon and Gold responded in singles play with two quick wins to take a 2-1 lead. At No. 4, Risebrough overwhelmed Nusslock 6-3, 6-0 to improve to 4-4 in the Big Ten, while Koprivica downed Caiati 7-5, 6-1 at No. 2 for UM's first lead of the day.
After a Badger win at No. 6, Malmberg re-gained the Minnesota lead at No. 3 with her 6-4, 6-4 victory over Carpenter. The win pushed Malmberg's dual record this spring to 5-7. From there, Schellhas clinched the dual with her 6-4, 6-4 upset win over 23rd-ranked Burke at No. 1 singles. With the win, Schellhas improved to 13-6 in duals this spring, including a 6-2 mark in Big Ten action. The victory was Schellhas' second over a ranked opponent this weekend and this season.
Wisconsin closed out the afternoon with Morgan Tuttle's 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Chiarelli at No. 5.
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 Wisconsin
April 15, 2007
Nielsen Tennis Stadium
Madison, Wis.
Singles
1. Ashley Schellhas (MINN) def. #23 Caitlin Burke (UW), 6-4, 6-4
2. Tijana Koprivica (MINN) def. Kaylan Caiati (UW), 7-5, 6-1
3. Ida Malmberg (MINN) def. Liz Carpenter (UW), 6-4, 6-4
4. Lindsay Risebrough (MINN) def. Chelsea Nusslock (UW), 6-3, 6-0
5. Morgan Tuttle (UW) def. Karina Chiarelli (MINN), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
6. Erin Jobe (UW) def. Mikayla Rogers (MINN), 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 4,2,6,3,1,5
Doubles
1. #54 Burke/Carpenter (UW) def. Schellhas/Risebrough (MINN), 9-8 (3)
2. Caiati/Nicole Beck (UW) def. Koprivica/Malmberg (MINN), 8-6
3. Chiarelli/Jackie Sperling (MINN) def. Kim Roberts/Nusslock (UW), 8-2
Order of finish: 3,2,1
#53 Minnesota def. Wisconsin, 4-3
Minnesota – 10-9, 3-5 Big Ten
Wisconsin – 4-15, 0-9 Big Ten
