NCAA Womens Tennis

Tennis Welcomes No. 34 Illinois and Northwestern in B1G Weekend

Tennis Welcomes No. 34 Illinois and Northwestern in B1G Weekend


EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Rutgers women’s tennis team (9-6, 0-4 B1G) will host No. 34 Illinois (13-6, 4-1 B1G) on Friday, April 7 before welcoming Northwestern (6-11, 2-3 B1G) on Sunday, April 9. Both matches will begin at 12 p.m. 

Weather dependent, the matches will either be played indoors at East Brunswick Racquet Club or outdoors at Piscataway High School.  

Schedule Update 

Rutgers’ match against Minnesota has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 19 at 11 a.m. The match will take place indoors at the East Brunswick Racquet Club.  

The contest was previously set for Sunday, April 2 but was postponed due to travel complications with the Golden Gophers.   

Last Time Out  

Rutgers fell to No. 50 Maryland on March 26 in its first home outdoor match, 6-1, on March 26.  

Daira Cardenas picked up the lone point for RU, with a 7-6 (5), 2-6, 1-0 (9) on the last singles court. The victory marks the eighth Big Ten win of her career and first of the season. 

Strong Start 

The Scarlet Knights came out hot in the spring, starting off with a perfect 4-0 record. The team earned sweeps over Bucknell (7-0), Binghamton (7-0) in addition to wins against Drexel (6-1) and Army (5-2) for their first and best undefeated start since 2018.  

Chilton leads RU with a 9-4 singles record, playing all 14 matches on the second court. Jackeline Lopez has also been solid at the top lineup spot with an 8-6 mark. Cardenas has also been solid in the bottom half of the lineup, collecting a 6-1 record. She has won of her last two matches in addition to earning RU’s first Big Ten win against the Terrapins.  

Rutgers has also been strong in doubles as well, winning the first point in eight matches this season. Valitova and partner Jackeline Lopez are 8-2 on the slate.  

Transferring In 

RU welcomed two transfers this offseason in Amira Badawi (NJIT) and Tara Chilton (Washington).  

Badawi, a native of Cairo, Egypt, compiled a 30-7…

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