April 15, 2003
Illinois' women's tennis team closes out its regular season this week, hosting Purdue on Thursday afternoon and Indiana on Saturday morning. Saturday's match marks the final regular-season home matches for seniors Eldina Fazlic and Michelle Webb. The Illini enter the match in a three-way tie for second place in the conference, one game behind leader Minnesota.
"We regrouped well against Michigan State (following a Saturday loss at Michigan)," Head Coach Sujay Lama said. "Everyone stepped up and competed with positive energy. To win this week, we need to have a similar effort."
Illinois will again be without junior Eva Choe, who is out indefinitely after suffering what is suspected to be a torn ACL in her left knee. The Illini will know more following an MRI scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Choe's injury came just after she and classmate Tiffany Eklov had solidified the No. 2 doubles slot. According to Lama, Choe's loss will not affect the Illini's recent doubles success.
"We prepare out players to be versatile," Lama said. "On any given day they should be able to play with anyone. It doesn't surprise me that anyone we pair up plays well together. Recently I've been pleased with how aggressive all three doubles teams have been."
Purdue, ranked 56th nationally, has been hot recently, bringing a five-match win streak into Thursday's match-up. The Boilermakers, coming off a 4-3 win over Michigan on Sunday are 11-9 on the year and 5-3 in league play. Purdue leads the all-time series 24-17 including last year's 5-2 triumph in West Lafayette, Ind.
Indiana enters Saturday's match losers of seven of its last eight matches, including its last three. The Hoosiers are 9-14 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten, but they lead the Illini 28-4 in head-to-head contests, winning last year 4-3 in Bloomington, Ind.
Saturday's match is the final regular season home match for Fazlic and Webb.
"Saturday is a day to recognize two seniors and all they've done to improve this program, both nationally and in the Big Ten," Lama said. "A positive is that this isn't their final home match because we host the Big Ten championships next weekend, but we're going to treat Saturday as a day to recognize the senior's accomplishments as well as to gain momentum heading into the Big Ten tournament."
Thursday's match is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m., while Saturday's starting time is 11 a.m.
