Feb. 27, 2002
The Illinois women's tennis team will take on two of the nation's best this weekend in North Carolina. The Illini's first stop is Saturday in Chapel Hill at No. 13 North Carolina, followed by a short trek to Durham and No. 4 Duke on Sunday.
The Illini (7-3, 2-0 Big Ten) look to continue their winning ways after opening up conference play with two home victories over Michigan and Michigan State last weekend.
"Duke and North Carolina are both excellent teams," said Head Coach Sujay Lama. "We try to schedule as many matches against top programs as we can. This weekend will be another challenge and another opportunity for us to measure ourselves."
The Tar Heels' and Blue Devils' squads both feature highly ranked players in both singles and doubles. No. 32 Marlene Mejia, No. 70 Julie Rotondi and No. 130 Lee Bairos lead North Carolina's lineup. In doubles, UNC has the No. 22-ranked tandem of Aniela Mojzis and Kendall Cline.
Freshman sensation and No. 3 Kelly McCain leads a deep Blue Devil singles squad, which has five players ranked higher than No. 82. Duke's doubles play is highlighted by No. 15 Julie DeRoo and McCain.
Sophomore Jennifer McGaffigan, the only ranked Illinois player at No. 38, has paced the team from her No. 1 singles spot. McGaffigan won both matches last weekend, boosting her record to 8-2 on the year, she is 19-8 overall. Freshman Cynthya Goulet will likely fill in at No. 2, sophomores Tiffany Eklov and Eva Choe are probable at No. 3 and No. 4, freshman Kate Boomershine is penciled in at No. 5, and junior Eldina Fazlic should play at No. 6.
Illinois' doubles teams, which struggled for one win in six tries last weekend, could play Goulet/McGaffigan at No. 1, Choe/Boomershine at No. 2 and juniors Michelle Webb and Liz Fraker at No. 3.
"We still need to work on our doubles game," Lama said. "One of our main focuses the next couple of weeks will be trying to arrive at our best doubles combinations. Last year, it took us all the way until April to get it worked out. Sometimes it just takes a while."
