Jan. 31, 2001

After breezing through two matches last weekend, the competition will stiffen for the young Illini. Louisville and No. 17 Tennessee will come to the Atkins Tennis Center for dual matches Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 3 and 4, respectively.

"This should be a test for us," said Head Coach Sujay Lama. "This is a big opportunity for our program. Louisville is always tough, and any time that a Top-20 team (Tennessee) comes to town, you can always expect a tough match." The 17th-ranked Volunteers competed in the Adidas Invitational in Orlando, Fla., this past weekend. They received solid doubles play from Crystal Cleveland and Brooke Cordell, who advanced to the finals in the "B" flight of the tournament. This is the opening weekend of the dual match season for UT. The Volunteers play at Purdue Saturday before their match with the Illini on Sunday.

"We needs to work on our doubles play if we are going to challenge them," said Lama.

The young Louisville team has struggled due to injuries and a lack of experience during the early going this season. The Cardinals are 2-4 coming into the Atkins Tennis Center, having lost to Vanderbilt (9-0), Tennessee-Chattanooga (5-2), Tennessee Tech (5-2) and Kentucky (9-0) in their last four matches. UL defeated Murray State and Indiana State back in September.

The Fighting Illini got their dual match season off to a good start by sweeping both Illinois State and Illinois-Chicago Jan. 27. The Illini benefitted from solid play all around as they dropped only one match all day. Freshman Eva Choe looked impressive in her first dual meet action, she defeated No. 84 Brigette Zarazee (Illinois State) at No. 5 singles.

"I am very pleased with the way that we started the season," Lama said. " I am very impressed with the way that the younger players on our team handled the opening meet. We start three freshman and two sophomores, and they play like veterans," he added. "Though we were successful, we still have a lot to work on and I look forward to a successful season."