No. 1 Northwestern kicked off the second round of the NCAA tournament the same way it began so many matches this year – with a fast start.
Facing Indiana’s Brianna Williams and Katya Zapadalova, NU’s top doubles team of juniors Georgia Rose and Lauren Lui won easily, 8-3.
That the tandem breezed through the match early is a testament to Rose and Lui’s great teamwork. Rose, who teamed with former NCAA doubles champion Alexis Prousis last season, praised her new partner.
“My job is pretty easy when I am playing with Lauren,” Rose said. “All I have to do is set her up and she is guaranteed to put the volley away. She had a great day today. She was definitely volleying and serving really well. When she is on fire like that, we usually play great doubles.”
Lui has a similar respect for Rose.
“It’s great because when I don’t hit the ball she can get it,” Lui said. “If I am at net and I get lobbed, I know that she is going to sprint back there so fast, so I don’t have to worry. I know she is always right behind me to get any ball that I miss.”
The pair’s bond away from tennis has contributed to their on-court success.
“We are friends off the court, which I definitely think helps,” Rose said. “We like to come in and practice together and work on our doubles play.”
Rose and Lui are the only NU doubles team to be selected for the NCAA doubles competition, which will be held May 21-26 in Tulsa, Okla. If they win, they will be the second Cats duo in three years to bring home the national doubles title, last won by Alexis Prousis and Cristelle Grier in 2006.
The Wildcats’ duo proved they belonged among the elite doubles teams in the country with dominating wins over Indiana and University of Illinois-Chicago. The two wins this weekend improved the duo’s record to an impressive 15-0 in dual play and 21-1 overall this season.
The duo missed very few balls, giving Indiana more than it could handle. The Hoosiers struggled to return the Cats’ serve and were broken three times, as Williams and Zapadalova grew visibly frustrated
With the crowd screaming “Sweet Lui,” the junior hit a series of great volleys. Lui said she enjoyed the crowd support.
“It’s great. Some shots were kind of on accident but it worked well,” Lui said.
Up 7-0, the tandem ran into a roadblock. NU was broken at love and went on to lose three straight games. The Cats seemed a little frustrated but quickly rebounded to win the match 8-3.
“Winning 8-0 would have been nice, but we were pleased with the way we played,” Rose said. “Those few loose points hopefully won’t happen in Tulsa.”
Saturday’s doubles win against Indiana helped Rose and Lui cap off an impressive weekend. Against UIC on Friday, the duo won convincingly 8-1 over the Flames’ Ilinica Cristescu and Kristen McPhillips.
