CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women’s tennis team looks to continue its four-match win streak in the Big Ten Conference this weekend, first hosting Purdue for Fighting Illini Friday on Friday (April 8) at 1 p.m. CT in Atkins Tennis Center, before traveling to University Park, Pa., for an 11 a.m. CT match at Penn State in the Sarni Tennis Center on Sunday (April 10).
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Friday | Fighting Illini Friday
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Last Time Out
The Illinois women’s tennis team was successful in its first Big Ten Conference road test of the season as the Illini opened their 2-0 weekend with a 4-2 win at Iowa on Friday, before earning a come-from-behind 4-3 victory at Nebraska on Sunday.
Sophomore Kate Duong and freshman Megan Heuser each went 2-0 in the singles and teamed to go 1-1 at No. 1 doubles for the Illini, while freshman Kasia Treiber also notched a pair of singles wins in the two matches.
Illini vs. the Field
The Illini own a 36-31 advantage in the all-time series with the Boilermakers and have won eighth-straight, including taking both matches a season ago with a 4-1 win in West Lafayette on April 11 and a 4-3 victory in Atkins on April 29.
Illinois also hold a 26-3 record against the Nittany Lions in the all-time series and have won 11 of the last 12, including the last four matches. It has been three seasons since the two teams have met, with the Illini taking a 4-1 in Atkins on April 19, 2019 in their previous meeting.
Illini Notes
- Illinois is 12-6 on the season and 5-1 in the Big Ten and owns a 9-1 record at home in Atkins Tennis Center in 2022, with its lone loss coming outside.
- Illinois owns an all-time record of 260-225 (.536) in the Big Ten Conference.
- Entering the weekend, Illinois is ranked No. 50 in the most recent ITA Collegiate Tennis Division I Women’s team rankings.
- Juniors Ashley Yeah and Josie Frazier lead the Illini with an 11-4 record at No. 2 doubles, with the No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Kate Duong and freshman Megan Heuser sitting at 10-6. Junior Emily Casati and freshman Kasia Treiber own a 4-4 record at No. 3 doubles, with Casati has also teamed up with freshman Kida Ferrari for one win on court three.
- Individually, Yeah leads the way with an 11-5 record on the season, with Duong owning a 10-5 mark at No. 1 singles. Treiber is 9-5 in her first season, while classmate Heuser also owns nine wins with a 9-6 record.
- Duong and Treiber lead the way in league play with a 5-1 record in singles action, while Frazier and Yeah own a team-best 5-1 mark at No. 2 doubles.
- All eight players have registered at least one singles win in 2022.
- Yeah brought home Big Ten Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week honors on March 22 after posting a 4-0 record in her matches, including two wins with doubles partner and classmate Josie Frazier at No. 2 doubles and a pair of singles wins on court two. It was the first career Athlete of the Week for Yeah and the first for the Illini since Mia Rabinowitz took home the honor on Feb. 18, 2020.
- Head coach Evan Clark is in his sixth year as the head of Illinois women’s tennis and owns an overall record of 93-64 (.592) and is 47-23 (.671) in the Big Ten Conference.
- The Illini are coming off a 9-9 Big Ten Conference-only season in 2021.
- The Illini return five players from last season, including senior Shivani Ingle, juniors Casati, Frazier and Yeah and sophomore Duong.
- Illinois welcomes in three freshmen in 2022 with the addition of Heuser, Ferrari and Treiber.
Next Up
Illinois returns to Atkins Tennis Center for its regular season finale as the Illini celebrate Senior Day against Northwestern on Sunday (April 17) at 12 p.m. CT in Atkins Tennis Center.
For more Fighting Illini women’s tennis news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniWTennis on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
