Box ScoreÂ
LUBBOCK, Texas –  The Fighting Illini women's tennis team fell to the No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders, 4-2 on Saturday afternoon at the McLeod Tennis Center. Illinois closes the 2018 season with a 22-6 record.
The Illini grabbed the doubles point on Saturday with wins at the No. 1 and 3 positions. Illinois earned 21 doubles points over the course of the season.
In singles play, Texas Tech's Sarah Dvorak was first off the court with a 6-1, 6-0 win over freshman Sasha Belaya. Fellow-freshman Emilee Duong answered with a 6-3, 6-0 victory on court six to give Illinois a 2-1 lead. The Illini then lost on courts one, two and four as Texas Tech clinched the match victory.
Illinois will return six members of the 2018 roster after the departure of seniors Jade Hilton and Grace Tapak.
Illini Quotes
"Today was a tough one to swallow but at the end of the day these kids are responsible for turning in the best season in program history to date. We have great kids in our program and I could not be happier for them to have the success they have had this year.
After the match in the huddle today you have players talking about how happy they are to be a part of this program and how much it means to them to play for the University of Illinois and that's all that really matters to me. It's been truly remarkable to see our team, program and culture grown so quickly. I'm very appreciative of all their hard work to put Illinois Women's Tennis on the map.
"The best news is that this is just the start. We know more great things are to come and we are always very proud to have the opportunity to wear the Orange and Blue." – head coach Evan Clark
Illini Notes
- The Illini complete the 2018 campaign with 22 wins, which is tied for the most in program history.
- Illinois earned the highest winning percentage (.786) in program history.
- Illinois's 22 wins are the most in a single season under head coach Evan Clark.
Final Results
#11 Texas Tech 4, #19 Illinois 2
Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 3*
- Pedraza-Novak/Belaya (Illinois) def. Dvorak/Federici (TTU) 6-4
- Duong/Switkes (Illinois) vs. Maltby/Talaba (TTU) 6-6, unf.
- Kawai/Rabinowitz (Illinois) vs. Valenstein/Rush (TTU) 6-3
Singles-Order of Finish: 5, 6, 1, 2, 4*
- Gabriela Talaba (TTU) def. Jaclyn Switkes (Illinois) 6-3, 6-3
- Felicity Maltby (TTU) def. Asuka Kawai (Illinois) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
- Daniela Pedraza-Novak (Illinois) vs. Alex Valenstein (TTU) 6-3, 6-7(2), unf.
- Sabrina Federici (TTU) def. Mia Rabinowitz (Illinois) 7-5, 6-2
- Sarah Dvorak (TTU) def. Sasha Belaya (Illinois) 6-1, 6-0
- Emilee Duong (Illinois) def. Katelyn Jackson (TTU) 6-3, 6-0
Record: Texas Tech (22-6) | Illinois (22-6)
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