April 9, 2003
The Illinois women's tennis team heads into this weekend's matches at Michigan and Michigan State with a 5-1 conference record, one match behind Big Ten co-leaders Minnesota and Northwestern in the win column. The Illini are coming off of 6-1 victories over Penn State and Ohio State last weekend at the Atkins Tennis Center. Despite being within reach of first place, Head Coach Sujay Lama insists the Illini will not be thinking of that heading into this weekend's contests.
"We play our best when we focus on only the next match," Head Coach Sujay Lama said. "During spring break, we started looking ahead and we got into a slump. This past weekend we came out of that slump and started playing good tennis again. Our focus this week has been playing Michigan and Michigan State. We aren't worrying about anything else."
"We have four huge matches left, starting with Michigan," Lama said. "If we take them one at a time, good things will happen, and if that means contending for the Big Ten title, then let it be. As long as we take care of business in each match, we can make our goals a reality."
The Illini have not lost to either Michigan or Michigan State since Lama has been at the helm. The Illini have won four straight regular season contests versus the Wolverines and 11 in a row over the Spartans.
Michigan enters the weekend at 11-5 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines defeated Indiana, 5-2, on April 6. Michigan leads the all-time series 16-10, but the Illini prevailed in last year's meeting, 5-2 at Atkins.
The Spartans are 8-10 overall and winless Big Ten play. They are coming off a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Hoosiers April 5. Illinois holds a 19-9 all-time advantage over the Spartans including a 4-3 home victory last season.
In singles, the Illini are led by Jennifer McGaffigan, ranked 69th nationally. Tiffany Eklov leads the team in singles wins with 21.
McGaffigan pairs with senior Michelle Webb to give the Illini the nation's 20th-ranked doubles duo. The tandem is 25-4 on the season and 15-2 in spring dual-match play.
"I was really pleased with our doubles play on Sunday," Lama said. "We're a lot more comfortable and confident in our play heading into Saturday."
Despite the success of his No. 1 team, Lama has been concerned with the play of his Nos. 2 and 3 teams. It is an issue that was addressed when the coaching staff switched the lineup over the weekend, but Lama and Assistant Coach JoAnne Russell will continue to experiment with new pairs.
"At No. 3, Eldina was unbelievable," Lama continued. "This week, we're going to give Leila (Cehajic) a look and see if she can be the missing piece of the puzzle. There will be competition between Leila and Brianna. We'll see who earns the spot, but either one will be a good partner with Eldina."
