Feb. 20, 2003

Illinois' women's tennis team faces a daunting task this Sunday versus No. 1 Duke at Atkins Tennis Center. Scheduling the top-ranked Blue Devils just after the beginning of the Big Ten season may seem like a questionable thing to do, but to Illini Head Coach Sujay Lama, the decision was a no-brainer.

"When we make our schedule, we make sure to give the women an opportunity to knock off the nation's top teams," Lama said. "Duke just won the National Indoor Championship, so we have a great opportunity to do something special."

"Right now our confidence is high, after winning two Big Ten road matches. To beat Duke we have to play our best. If we do, anything can happen. If we don't bring our 'A' game, we won't beat them."

Illinois is 5-3 overall and coming off road wins at Iowa (6-1) and Minnesota (4-3). The Illini are led by two ranked doubles teams; Jennifer McGaffigan and Michelle Webb at No. 21 and Eldina Fazlic and Eva Choe at No. 54.

McGaffigan, who plays No. 1, is the Illini's lone ranked singles player at No. 41. At No. 2 is Eklov, a winner in five straight. Fazlic competes at No. 3 while Webb, Choe and freshman Brianna Knue rotate at Nos. 4, 5 and 6.

The Blue Devils, 8-0 heading into the weekend, have six singles players ranked in the top-100, led by Kelly McCain at No.2. Duke also has four doubles teams in the top-60 nationally, with Julie DeRoo and Amanda Johnson leading the way at No. 11.

"After the way we played against Tennessee, we believe we can play with the nation's top teams," sophomore Cynthya Goulet said. "We are much more confident now. Instead of coming out defensive, we are looking to be aggressive and start attacking our opponents."

The match is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CST at Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana. Updates will be posted throughout the match on the women's tennis home page. The site can be accessed via www.fightingillini.com.