Bob Larson's Tennis News | WTN: 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship Quarterfinals Match Results: #8 California 4, #1 Northwestern 2

NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
Women’s Quarterfinals
May 17, 2009
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas

#8 California 4, #1 Northwestern 2

RECORDS: California 21-4; Northwestern 28-2

SINGLES
1. #11 Jana Juricova (Cal) def. #1 Maria Mosolova (NU), 6-4, 6-1
2. #26 Marina Cossou (Cal) def. #20 Georgia Rose (NU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. #41 Mari Andersson (Cal) def. #47 Samantha Murray (NU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
4. #119 Lauren Lui (NU) vs. #54 Claire Ilcinkas (Cal), 7-6 (10), 1-6, 3-3 DNF
5. #117 Nazlie Ghazal (NU) def. #32 Bojana Bobusic (Cal), 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4)
6. Keri Robison (NU) def. Stephany Chang (Cal), 0-6, 6-2, 6-1

DOUBLES
1. #7 Andersson/Juricova (Cal) def. #24 Lui/Rose (NU), 8-6
2. #35 Cossou/Ilcinkas (Cal) def. #29 Mosolova/Robison (NU), 9-8 (5)
3. Chernyakova/Murray (NU) def. Bobusic/Chang (Cal), 8-4

ORDER OF FINISH:
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 6, 1, 5, 3, 1

POSTMATCH NOTES
Cal claimed its 10th consecutive victory en route to its third consecutive NCAA semifinal appearance. The Golden Bears will face fifth-seeded Notre Dame on Monday, May 18 at 4 p.m. (CT).

POSTMATCH QUOTES
Cal Head Coach Amanda Augustus
“That was quite the match. We just played great tennis on every court, starting with the doubles. They (Northwestern) got off to a quick start against us at No. 3 and we never really had a chance to catch up. We made a few too many unforced errors. I know one and two would be good matches. It was huge for Claire (Ilcinkas) and Marina (Cossou) to pull out that tiebreak in the doubles. They are working on getting their confidence back as a team, and when they play well together, they really know where each other is and really complement one another well. Especially, in the match point in the doubles tiebreaker, where Claire felt confident enough to poach and really play aggressive. I think that really got the team off in the right track and is really going to send us in the right direction. In singles, one of the big keys was Jana (Juricova) at No. 1. She got herself in a hole early, but she found her rhythm and got herself through it. I knew that Marina (Cossou) had a good chance. She had almost the identical match with Georgia (Rose) in the fall at the ITA All-American Championships. I just knew that if she could get that second set, I felt really good about her chances. This match showed that we’re definitely fit enough to do this. Northwestern fought so hard on every court. They’re well coached and they competed their hearts out, and it was just really good tennis.”

Northwestern Head Coach Claire Pollard
“The doubles point was really key. We had a good chance to close it out at 7-6 and we missed some balls I wouldn’t expect us to miss. Cal kept making us play and that was a big reason for it. I’m proud of the effort we gave in singles. They were on top of us quickly and beating us up pretty badly. A year ago, that happened to us in singles and we kind of rolled over. This year, I was really proud of the way the girls dug deep and found ways to win second sets. Lauren (Lui) pulling out that first tiebreaker was huge for us and gave us some momentum. As disappointed as I am, I’m so much prouder of the effort we gave this year. We lost to the team I was most worried about playing in the whole tournament. They beat Baylor without (Marina) Cossou. They had some of the best results in the country without their best player in, so once they got her back, I was concerned. I knew we were going to have to beat them at some point. I wish it would have been a little later, but we might have lost to someone else. I still feel Cal is the best team in the country. We were right with them and I thought we would be in a good position, if we could sweep the match out. But, there are no guarantees. We have some things to overcome. It was a great match and they were a little better than us. Across the board, I thought it was a fabulous match.”