EVANSTON, ILL.-- The 59th ranked Furman women's tennis team dropped to 1-2 on the year when the Lady Paladins suffered a 7-0 setback against the No. 16 ranked Northwestern Wildcats (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten) in Evanston, Illinois on Friday.

The Wildcats seized the momentum to start the match when Northwestern won all three doubles matches to earn the doubles point. At No. 1, Northwestern's Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush defeated Mary Kovarik and Caroline Bentley, 8-1, while the Wildcats' Ruth Barnes and Andrea Yung held off Natalie The and Marti Morris at No. 2, 8-5. The Wildcats also won at No. 3 doubles, where Jamie Peisel and Kristi Roemer defeated Mary Neill Hagood and Krista Thomson, 8-5.

Northwestern then took all six singles matches to claim the victory. Grier, who is ranked No. 16 in the nation, defeated Kovarik at No. 1, 6-4, 6-1, while Rush notched a straight-set victory against Hagood at No. 2 with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph. After Stacy Kokx defeated Morris at No. 6, 6-4, 6-0, Barnes beat Furman's Shellie Cochran at No. 5, 6-2, 6-0. Peisel then defeated Furman's Shannon Moore at No. 4, 6-2, 6-2, followed by a 6-4, 7-5 Yung victory over The at the No. 3 position.

The Lady Paladins will look to bounce back tomorrow when Furman faces DePaul in Chicago at 11:00 a.m. EST.

No. 16 Northwestern 7, No. 59 Furman 0
January 31, 2003
Singles Results
1.   #16 Cristelle Grier (NU) def. Mary Kovarik (FU), 6-4, 6-1
2.   #63 Jessica Rush (NU) def. Mary Neill Hagood (FU), 6-1, 6-2
3.   Andrea Yung (NU) def. Natalie The (FU), 6-4, 7-5
4.   #76 Jamie Peisel (NU) def. Shannon Moore (FU), 6-2, 6-2
5.   Ruth Barnes (NU) def. Shellie Cochran (FU), 6-2, 6-0
6.   Stacy Kokx (NU) def. Marti Morris (FU), 6-4, 6-0
Doubles Results
1.   Grier/Rush (NU) def. Kovarik/Caroline Bentley (FU), 8-1
2.   Barnes/Yung (NU) def. The/Morris (FU), 8-5
3.   Peisel/Kristi Roemer (NU) def. Hagood/Krista Thomson (FU), 8-5