By Brian ReganThe Daily Northwestern
After day one of the NCAA individual tournament, Northwestern players came out with mixed results.
Sophomore Georgia Rose won easily against her opponent, Ilona Somers of Mississippi, in straight sets, but freshman Samantha Murray fell to California’s Zsuzsanna Fodor, the 12th-ranked player in the country, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, in a tough match.
“Georgia looked great,” NU coach Claire Pollard said. “She served really well and worked hard from the baseline, and was really in control of the match and never eased off the gas or gave the girl a chance to get in the match.”
Rose started to work quickly, winning the first two games and breaking Somers to go up 3-0.
She served a perfect game and broke Somers again to win the first set 6-1 and cruised to a 6-2 second set victory for the match.
“I felt I played really well,” Rose said. “It was a perfect first round match. I definitely came out playing conservatively early and gaining confidence as the match went on.”
In terms of effort, there was no difference between Rose’s and Murray’s matches, only the result was reversed.
Murray impressed Pollard, despite losing.
“It’s the best she’s played since Notre Dame,” Pollard said. “She’s been struggling of late and we tried to get her to relax and swing away. She did a great job in the first set, playing a real clean set, but Fodor is one of the best players in college tennis right now.”
Fodor made a comeback in the second set by holding off a Murray break and following with a break of her own to take an early 3-1 lead that she would never relinquish.
Even in defeat, Murray remained positive and said she is already looking at next year.
“It’s definitely an eye-opener when you see the level everyone is at,” Murray said. “It gives me something to aim for next year.”
Murray lost her last three singles matches of the season and finished with a 14-11 record in dual matches, playing mostly at the No. 2 spot.
Being in the same situation Murray was in last season, Rose said her appearance in the NCAA tournament last year has helped her immensely so far in this tournament.
“I’m a little more prepared this year,” Rose said. “Last year, NCAAs were on our radar all year and I put them on a pedestal and was a little more nervous than I should have been. This year, I got my nerves out early and felt more confident.”
Even though the number of Wildcats in action has shrunk to only two players, the Cats are still confident they can bring home some NCAA hardware.
Rose will play Tatsiana Uvarova of Virginia Commonwealth today in singles.
Later in the day, she will team up with senior doubles partner Alexis Prousis to play Georgia Tech’s Amanda Craddock and Alison Silverio.
With some of the rust off from her first-round match, Rose’s motivation remains unchanged.
“She’s in it to win the whole tournament,” Pollard said. “She is going to leave it all on the line and is getting healthier every day, and I look for her to play better each day of the tournament.”
Reach Brian Regan at [email protected].
