Ferney Reaches Finals in Florida
Ferney upsets fellow-Illini Rosenberg in semis to reach title match of Flight B
- 10/24/98

Today at the Gator Fall Classic, Illinois freshman Brooke Ferney (Caldwell, Idaho/Caldwell) advanced to the title match of Flight B in only her third tournament in Orange and Blue. In the morning, Ferney teamed with fellow-Illini Carla Rosenberg (Dallas, Texas/Plano) to reach the semifinals of Flight A doubles, only to turn around later in the afternoon and upset her teammate in the semis of Flight B Singles to advance to the finals.

"The girls are playing so well, but that meant that Carla and Brooke had to meet in the semis," said Head Coach Sujay Lama. "I can't say enough about the way Brooke played in just her third tournament. Today, we got a glimpse of what the future holds for Illini women's tennis."

In morning singles action, Ferney swept Florida State's Kylie Thompson, 6-2, 6-0, in the quarterfinals as Rosenberg, a sophomore, routed FSU's Marina Raic, 6-0, 6-0, to set up the Orange and Blue semifinal. The pair then teamed to defeat the duo of Chang/Mathew of Auburn, 8-4, to reach the semifinals of Flight A doubles.

In the afternoon, the two Illini squared off with Rosenberg taking the first set, 6-3. Illinois' freshman sensation rallied to take the final two sets and earn a tough 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. Ferney will face Miami's Alanna Broderick, who defeated Illinois' Allison Gottlieb (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) in the quarterfinals today, on Sunday in the championship match of Flight B.

In Flight A of singles, Illinois' Stacy Schapiro (Miami, Fla./Killian) was defeated by Florida's Traci Green, the No. 3 seed, 6-2, 6-1, to end her run in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket of Flight B singles, Megan Wise (Westerville, Ohio/Northland) advanced to the title match by defeating Florida International's Nazly Se Sawaf, 6-3, 7-6(5), before sweeping Christy Travis of Florida State, 6-1, 6-4.

In doubles, the pair of Ferney/Rosenberg will battle the top-seed in Florida's Lehnhoff/Nickitas on Sunday in the semifinals. Illinois' duo of Simone Kung (Skokie, Ill./Niles West)/Wise was dropped by another Gator duo, Hazlett/Lelho, 8-2 in the quarterfinals today.

The Fighting Illini are one of ten different schools competing at the Gator Fall Classic in Gainesville, Fla., as Illinois Head Coach Sujay Lama returns to the site where he won two national titles as an assistant coach.. All competition is taking place at the Scott Linder Tennis Stadium, which is also the home of the 1999 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships. Tournament action runs through Sunday, Oct. 25.