CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini women’s tennis hosts their first two home dual matches of the season as Missouri and Eastern Illinois are set to visit for a doubleheader on Sunday. Illinois opens the season with a Braggin’ Rights tilt against Missouri at 11 a.m. CT, followed by a match against EIU at 3 p.m. CT, that afternoon.
LAST TIME OUT
The Illini wrapped up the fall season by hosting the USTA/ITF 15K from Atkins Tennis Center. During the fall, Illinois racked up 25 singles wins and 22 doubles victories across five collegiate events.
ILLINI VS. THE FIELD
Illinois leads the Braggin’ Rights series 4-0 all-time.
Against Eastern Illinois, the Fighting Illini lead 13-4 including sweeping the last six outings.
ILLINI NOTES
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 115-77 (.599) 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 146-88 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 earned the 14th appearance to the NCAA Team Tournament in program history. The last time Illinois made the NCAA Tournament as a team was the 2019 campaign. The 2023 appearance marked the third with Clark at the helm.
Illinois returns six of its eight players from last season, including fifth-year senior Josie Frazier and senior Kate Duong. Additionally, Megan Heuser, Kasia Treiber, and Kida Ferrari return for their junior campaigns and Violeta Martinez begins her sophomore dual season. The Illini welcomed South Carolina-transfer, but Illinois native, McKenna Schaefbauer along with freshmen Rosie Seccia and Alice Xu.
RANKING NOTES
Doubles
UP NEXT
Next Friday and Saturday, Illinois will head east to take on Charlotte and Duke from Durham, North Carolina.
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