In a day of upsets Northwestern tennis players Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush came out on top.
The top four doubles seeds lost Tuesday in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Athens, Georgia. But fifth-seeded Grier and Rush (40-5) pushed through, defeating Georgia’s No. 12 Agata Cioroch and Shadisha Robinson for a 6-3, 7-5 win. The NU win over the unseeded duo made them the highest remaining seed.
In singles play Grier dominated her opponent, Aliela Mojzis of North Carolina to advance to the sweet 16 while Rush fell short. With her win Grier surpassed the record she set last year for season wins at NU with 39.
The Wildcat sophomore-senior combination lost to Georgia in their last meeting. But the two focused on their serves and hit solidly until they finally closed out the match, coach Claire Pollard said.
“We had a tough draw to play against Georgia at home,” Pollard said. “But we have something to prove out there, and I think that we wanted it a little more than they did frankly. In the end we were willing to work through the difficult parts to come out on top.”
Grier won her first singles set 6-0. She then fell behind in the second set before fighting back to finish 6-4.
“When you win a first set 6-0, you expect the opponent to play a little better in the second,” Pollard said. “But Grier was able to sustain her level and she was a little better and a little stronger honestly.”
Rush also attempted a second set comeback but wasn’t successful. The 44th-ranked player lost to Brigham Young’s No. 36 Barbara Zahnova 6-2, 3-6, 6-0. The senior finished with a 34-10 record — her most wins ever.
“Rushie was doing great until (the 10 minutes break between sets) and I think she got a little tired and hot during that time. It’s 95-100 degrees out here,” Pollard said.
At 9 a.m. today Grier will take on Arizona’s No. 11 Dianne Hollands, who she beat in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Indoor Championships. Pollard said Hollands is a “super” competitor.
Grier will join Rush in the afternoon to take on Clemson’s No. 13 pair Julie Coin and Maria Brito.
“A lot of people have gone home and we’re still here so that’s always a good thing,” Pollard said. “But everyone is awesome who’s in this tournament and the level of tennis we’re seeing is tremendous.”
