Whomever Cristelle Grier plays, the result probably is going to be the same.
The freshman, ranked 16th nationally, dominated North Carolina’s Kate Pinchbeck, but the Northwestern women’s tennis team lost 4-3 on Sunday in Evanston. Grier found out only afterward that she had beaten the No. 11 player in the nation.
“Actually I didn’t know what ranking she was until now,” Grier said.
Grier overwhelmed Pinchbeck with her agility and quickness, and beat the senior 6-1,6-0 to remain undefeated in singles play.
Despite Grier’s performance, the No. 5 Tar Heels dropped the Wildcats (4-3) Sunday at the Combe Tennis Center. NU split the singles matches but lost the doubles point to North Carolina (4-0).
NU coach Claire Pollard said that losing the doubles point was not the most important part of the match, but it put the team behind heading into the singles matches.
“I don’t think (the doubles point) makes or breaks the match because I think singles will change depending on what happens in the doubles point,” Pollard said. “I was more disappointed that we didn’t give ourselves a chance to win, not that we didn’t win it.”
In the singles matches, NU got strong performances at the top of the lineup as junior Jessica Rush joined Grier by winning in straight sets. Rush trailed 2-3 in the first set before putting her opponent away 6-3,6-1.
Juniors Ruth Barnes and Stacy Kokx, the No. 5 and No. 6 positions, both lost. Kokx dropped her match 4-6, 1-6, and Barnes fell 3-6, 5-7. After losing the first set, Barnes appeared to be making a comeback as she went ahead 5-1 in the second set. But her emotional fist pumps turned into a look of dejection when she eventually succumbed to her opponent.
The overall contest was ultimately decided in the matches of sophomore Andrea Yung and freshman Jamie Peisel.
Peisel, playing at the No. 4 position, dropped her first set 3-6 but came back to win the second set 7-6. Having gained momentum, Peisel didn’t look back and won the third set 6-1. She said she regained her confidence after coming back to win the second set.
“I accepted that she was playing her best tennis and I was getting down too much on myself,” Peisel said. “I felt confident even though I came so close to losing.”
With Peisel’s win knotting the match at 3-3, Yung’s match would decide the contest. Yung won the first set 7-6 but lost the second and third sets, 5-7 and 2-6. Even after the heart-breaking loss, Pollard said she was happy with Yung’s effort.
“The encouraging thing is that Yung got rocked by that girl this time last year,” Pollard said. “She really had a great chance in the second set, but came up a little short.”
NU began the weekend by downing Furman 7-0 on Friday at home.
The Cats may have another chance against North Carolina when both teams compete at the ITA National Team Indoors Championships in Madison, Wis. on February 6-9.
Pollard said she would welcome another opportunity to beat a North Carolina team that holds a 6-2 all-time record against NU.
