Omni Hotels Midwest Regional Winding Down
October 29, 2001 | Women's Tennis
The 2001 Omni Hotels Midwest Regional Championships started last Thursday with 29 schools represented, nearly 100 singles players and 64 doubles teams. After Monday 's action, just two players remain to vy for the singles title.
The doubles championship went to Illinois State's Liina Suurvarik and Alesia Mikalayeva who defeated the fourth-seeded tandem of Karie Schlukebir and Linda Tran, 8-5.
In singles play, Northwestern had three of the four semifinalists. Third-seeded Lia Jackson, Jessica Rush and fifth-seeded Maring Piriou all advanced out of the quarterfinal rounds. Purdue's Melissa Iqbal was the other semifinalist.
Iqbal beat doubles champion Alesia Mikalayeva, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to place into the semis. Jackson had to get by the other half of the victorious doubles team in Liina Suurvarik, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Rush had her hands full with Drake's Cecily Dubusker, winning 7-5, 7-6(3), while Piriou defeated Rebecca Hawkins (Eastern Michigan) , 6-2, 6-2.
In the singles semifinals, Piriou easily defeated Iqbal, 6-2, 6-2 to assure the Wildcats of both spots in the finals. Piriou's teammates, Jackson and Rush faced off against each other to claim the remaining finals' spot, with Jackson winning 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) to set up the Northwestern championship match on Tuesday morning.
