ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 17-ranked Kate Duong and Megan Heuser saw their 2022-23 campaign come to a close with a loss in the NCAA Doubles Quarterfinals against No. 10 Julia Adams and Melodie Collard of Virginia. The Illini All-Americans fell 6-1, 6-3 outdoors at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
After taking the first game for the third-straight match, the Illini tandem fell 6-1 in the opening frame. Duong and Heuser owned a brief lead at 2-1 in the second set and were tied at 3-3 before the UVA pair closed out the victory.
Duong and Heuser close the season with a 26-6 record when working together.
Heuser and Duong were the fifth doubles duo in Illinois program history to earn a bid into the NCAA Doubles Championships and the first since 2013. The tandem is the first All-American Illini duo since Melissa Kopinski and Rachael White appeared in the Elite Eight in 2013. Heuser and Duong as well as Kopinski and White are the only two Illini duos to earn All-American status in program history.
The last time Illinois made the NCAA Tournament as a team and sent a doubles duo was 2004.
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