Feb. 16, 2002

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Northwestern women's tennis team fell to No. 10 North Carolina, 4-3, in an intense match this afternoon in Chapel Hill. The 'Cats fell to 5-3 on the season, while the Tar Heels improved to 6-1.

The 'Cats opened the match, winning at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles for the first point. In singles, the 'Cats could not hold on as UNC took four of the six matches for the win. The match came down to the No. 2 slot, where UNC's Julie Rotondi battled back and forth with Lia Jackson in an intense match. Jackson won the first set 6-2, but Rotondi battled back to tie it up with a 6-1 win in the second. The two traded points in the final set before Rotondi pulled away to win, 6-4. NU's other points came as Simona Petrutiu defeated Lee Bairos at No. 5 (6-2, 2-6, 6-0) and Ruth Barnes topped Caroline Hill at No. 6 (6-3, 7-6(3)).

The Wildcats will play No. 4 Duke Sunday at 11 a.m. CDT.

No. 10 North Carolina vs. No. 12 Northwestern

UNC 4, NU 3

SINGLES
No. 1 Marlene Mejia (UNC) def. #9 Marine Piriou (NU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 $41 Julie Rotondi (UNC) def. #55 Lia Jackson (NU), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4*
No. 3 #37 Kate Pinchbeck (UNC) def. #95 Jessica Rush (NU), 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 Aniela Mojzis (UNC) def. Andrea Yung (NU), 7-6(2), 6-0
No. 5 Simona Petrutiu (NU) def. Lee Bairos (UNC), 6-2, 2-6, 6-0
No. 6 Ruth Barnes (NU) def. Caroline Hill (UNC), 6-3, 7-6(6)

DOUBLES
No. 1 Piriou/Rush (NU) def. Mejia/Bairos (UNC), 8-3
No. 2 Petrutiu/Jackson (NU) def. Kendall Cline/Mojzis (UNC), 8-4
No. 3 Pinchbeck/Rotondi (UNC) def. Ruth Barnes/Kokx (NU), 8-1

*Clinched match (number) indicates ITA ranking