Showdown with Washington Set for Friday Afternoon at Atkins

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.  – Illinois is set to close out its non-conference slate on Friday with a home meeting with future Big Ten foe Washington. The Fighting Illini and Huskies will square off in the second match of a tennis tripleheader at Atkins Tennis Center at 2 p.m. CT.

Friday’s match will round out the Orange and Blue’s out-of-conference slate, and they sit at 8-4 with Big Ten play two weeks away.

LAST TIME OUT

Six weekends into the season, Illinois holds an 8-4 record on the season after picking up a 4-0 victory over Tulsa at the Blue Gray Tennis Classic last weekend in Montgomery, Ala. The Illini went 1-2 as a team, also dropping contests against #36 Alabama and #59 Wake Forest.

Josie Frazier went 2-1 on the weekend while playing at No. 5 singles. Frazier picked up a straight-set 6-2, 6-1 victory against Tulsa’s Myroslava Zelenchuk on Feb. 23 before earning Illinois’ lone point against the Crimson Tide with a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Alabama’s Anna Parkhomenko on Feb. 24.

ILLINI VS. THE FIELD

Illinois is 1-9 all-time against Washington including a 1-2 record against the Huskies under Evan Clark.

ILLINI NOTES 

• After receiving votes in the final two top-25 polls, Illinois moved up to No. 24 in the first computerized rankings of the season. The ranking was the best by the Illini since the 2019 campaign.
• On Feb. 21, Kasia Treiber was tabbed the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Player of the Week – the first honor of her career. Treiber posted a 2-0 weekend at No. 3 singles in the Fighting Illini’s wins over Brown and Marshall at Atkins Tennis Center. Both were straight-set victories.
• Illinois is off to a 5-0 start when playing at the Atkins Tennis Center this season. 
• Head coach Evan Clark is in his ninth year as the head coach of Illinois women’s tennis and holds an overall dual record of 122-79 (.607) and is 58-28 (.674) in Big Ten play during his time as an Illini. Including his time as the head coach at UNC-Wilmington, Clark owns a 153-90 record overall.
• The Illini are coming off an 18-10 season with an 8-3 Big Ten record in 2022-23. The Illini’s 18 wins tied the sixth-most in a single season in program history. UI…