PALMAS DEL MAR, Puerto Rico – Illinois women's tennis has concluded its opening weekend of fall play as the team traveled to Puerto Rico to participate in the University of Georgia-hosted Puerto Rico College Challenge. The Orange and Blue faced some of the nation's top talent at the three-day event with Georgia ranking fifth and Miami coming in at number 15.
"Overall this was a really positive weekend and a great experience for our team," shared head coach Evan Clark.
On Friday, Illinois opened play with a convincing showing against a solid Georgia squad. The Bulldogs put a trio of tandems on the court ranked in the top 60 in the nation, despite solid showings by the Illinois pairs, UGA took all three contests. In singles play, UI forced three matches into a third set and also claimed a pair of wins over the hosts. Freshman Jaclyn Switkes picked up her first collegiate win on the opening day to join junior Jerricka Boone in the win column.
Day two saw Illinois take on a less powerful Mercer squad. The Orange and Blue claimed 11 of 12 matches against the Bears in Saturday's action. Boone and Switkes each picked their second win of the season in as many days. Also picking up victories were Louise Kwong, Ines Vias, Daniela Pedraza Novak, Jade Hilton and Grace Tapak.
Second day doubles action saw the Fighting Illini go 4-0 in matches. Kwong and Vias teamed up for a shutout over Mercer's Stavrovlaki and Fougner tandem on court one. Alexis Casati and Boone picked up a 6-3 win over Korta and Sidor. The freshman duo of Switkes and Pedraza Novak won 6-2, while the sophomore tandem of Tapak and Hilton was victorious by a 6-1 margin.
Sunday's action was cut short due to time constraints and therefore only eight singles matches were conducted on the day. Miami's lineup featured five players all ranked in the country's top-100 players. Freshman Vias picked up UI's only victory over the Bears.
"We didn't have the results we would like against Miami today but once again we had plenty of opportunities," stated Clark. He continued, "We are looking forward to a couple good days of practice to make some adjustments before we compete again next weekend."
The Illinois crew will split up next weekend, with part of the team heading to the Pacific Palisades, California-based Riviera/ITA All-American Championships and the rest of the group traveled over the border to the Purdue Invitational.
Friday Results – No. 5 Georgia
Singles:
#1 No. 29 Perez (UGA) def. Casati (ILL) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(5)
#2 No. 55 King (UGA) def. Kwong (ILL) 4-6, 6-0, 6-4
#3 Boone (ILL) def. No. 88 Gould (UGA) 6-3, 6-0
#4 No. 58 Garcia (UGA) def. Vias (ILL) 2-6, 6-5 (ret.)
#5 No. 72 Brinson (UGA) def. Pedraza Novak (ILL) 6-1, 6-4
#6 Switkes (ILL) def. Patterson (UGA) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles:
#1 No. 16 Garcia/Shaffer (UGA) def. Kwong/Vias (ILL) 6-2
#2 No. 20 Perez/Gould (UGA) def. Casati/Boone (ILL) 6-4
#3 No. 51 Brinson/King (UGA) def. Pedraza Novak/Switkes (ILL) 6-3
Saturday Results – Mercer
Singles:
#1 Stavroulaki (MU) def. Casati (ILL) 7-5 6-4
#2 Kwong (ILL) def. Fougner (MU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
#3 Boone (ILL) def. Korta (MU) 7-5, 6-2
#4 Vias (ILL) def. Sidor (MU) 7-5, 6-2
#5 Pedraza Novak (ILL) def. Powell (MU) 6-3 6-0
#6 Switkes (ILL) def. Bartz (MU) 6-1, 6-1
#7 Hilton (ILL) def. Klyachkin (MU) 6-1 7-5
#8 Tapak (ILL) def. Cesarini (MU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles:
#1 Kwong/Vias (ILL) def. Stavrovlaki/Fougner (MU) 6-0
#2 Casati/Boone (ILL) def. Korta/Sidor (MU) 6-3
#3 Switkes/Pedraza Novak (ILL) def. Powell/Bartz (MU) 6-2
#4 Tapak/Hilton (ILL) def. Klyachkin/Cesarini (MU) 6-1
Sunday Results – No. 15 Miami
Singles:
#1 No. 6 Wagner (Miami) def. Casati (ILL) 6-2, 6-2
#2 No. 13 Lohan (Miami) def. Kwong (ILL) 6-1, 6-3
#3 No. 94 Ogando (Miami) def. Boone (ILL) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
#4 Vias (ILL) def. No. 73 Wendy Zhang (Miami) 5-7, 4-6
#5 No. 63 Riobueno (Miami) def. Pedraza Novak (ILL) 6-2, 6-2
#6 Madcur (Miami) def. Hilton (ILL) 6-3, 6-3
#7 Tanielian (Miami) def. Switkes (ILL) 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-7)
#8 Fuentes (Miami) def. Tapak (ILL) 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-3)
