April 24, 2002

After splitting last two matches, Illinois' women's tennis team heads to the Big Ten Tournament with an 11-11 overall record and a 6-4 mark in conference. The Fighting Illini drew the fourth seed and will square off against the Iowa Hawkeyes, who are seeded fifth. Iowa comes in with an 8-12 overall record and 5-5 overall. The teams met once during the regular season, with the Illini coming out on the winning end of the 4-3 contest played at Atkins Tennis Center.

"We expect a tough battle from Iowa," said Head Coach Sujay Lama. "On paper, this is a very close match, and this year there have been a lot of close matches throughout the league."

Lama continued, "Right now, we are on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and a strong showing this weekend would help our chances. Our team is peaking at the right time though. The tournament is all about getting hot for three days."

Illinois, winners of four of its last five Big Ten matches, has a probable singles lineup of sophomore Jennifer McGaffigan at No, 1, classmate Tiffany Eklov at No. 2, and junior Eldina Fazlic at No. 3. At No. 4 will be sophomore Eva Choe, with freshman Cynthya Goulet at No. 5 and junior Michelle Webb at No. 6. In doubles, the probable lineup has the combination of Goulet and McGaffigan at No. 1, Choe and Webb at No. 2 and Fazlic and Eklov at No. 3.

Coming into the tournament, McGaffigan has won five of her last six singles contests, Webb has won four of five and Fazlic has won six of seven. The Orange and Blue is healthy from top to bottom after having surgeries sideline co-captains Webb and Fazlic and freshman Leila Cehajic earlier in the year. Fazlic, who played No. 2 last year has worked her way back up the ladder, going from the sixth slot at the beginning of the dual-match season to the third spot for the tournament.

"Everyone is healthy right now and that will be a huge boost for us," said Lama. "This year we have dealt with a lot of adversity and sometimes success is defined by how you react to adversity. What we've gone through this year has made us stronger, it could give us an edge we haven't had earlier."

Illinois, coming off a second-place finish in last year's tournament is looking to get back to the championship match. Last year, the Fighting Illini were narrowly defeated by Northwestern, 4-2. Illinois has an even record this year against teams from its bracket, going 2-2 with victories over Michigan State and Iowa and defeats by Northwestern and Purdue.

Illinois' tournament results can be found at the U of I website, www.fightingillini.com. All tournament results can be followed at www.bigten.org and www.iuhoosiers.com.

Tentative Tournament schedule:

Day One - Thursday, April 25
First Round
(8) Purdue vs. (9) Michigan State, 9 a.m. CT
(7) Indiana vs. (10) Penn State, 10:30 a.m. CT
(6) Michigan vs. (11) Minnesota, 12:30 p.m. CT

Day Two - Friday, April 26
Quarterfinals
(1) Northwestern vs. Purdue/Michigan State, 9 a.m. CT
(4) Illinois vs. (5) Iowa, 10 a.m. CT
(2) Wisconsin vs. Indiana/Penn State, 12:30 p.m. CT
(3) Ohio State vs. Michigan/Minnesota, 2:30 p.m. CT

Day Three - Saturday, April 27
Semifinals
10:30 a.m. CT
12 p.m. CT

Day Four - Sunday, April 28
Championship
11 a.m. CT