March 2, 2004
The Illinois women's tennis team hits the road for the Hoosier state this week, but the Orange and Blue won't be taking on Indiana University. The Illini first will travel to South Bend to take on 18th-ranked Notre Dame Thursday at 3:30 pm. Coach Sujay Lama's troops will then face their first Big Ten opponent as they travel to West Lafayette Sunday to take on No. 57 Purdue in an 11 am (CST) contest.
The Fighting Illini moved up one spot in the ITA rankings, which came out today, from 18th to 17th. Individual singles and doubles rankings don't come out again until next week, so senior Jeniffer McGaffigan remains Illinois' only ranked singles player at No. 14. She and junior Cythya Goulet constitute No. 7 doubles team in the nation.
McGaffigan (18-5) is currently on pace to become the all-time career singles winner for Illinois. She is currently second on the list with 93 victories, 10 wins shy of All-American Lindsey Nimmo, who recorded 103 from 1990-93. McGaffigan also has 93 career doubles wins, making her the career leader, just ahead of Kathy Neil, who won 87 while she played for Illinois from 1984-88.
Last Friday the Illini suffered a disappointing 5-2 defeat to then fourth-ranked Washington before bouncing back to hand Western Michigan a 6-1 defeat on Saturday. Head Coach Sujay Lama was proud of the way his team came out against Western Michigan.
"Our players were very disappointed when they lost to Washington, a very good team, last Friday" said Lama. "No longer are we content to play competitive matches with the top teams. Even so, the players rebounded well; they came out on fire against Western Michigan on Saturday."
Notre Dame is currently on a seven-match winning streak after starting of the season with a loss to Michigan. The Irish most recently beat then-No. 26 Indiana, 5-2. Notre Dame is already familiar with Illinois, since the two teams collided at the Midwest Blast held at the UI Atkins Tennis Center last fall. The Fighting Irish boast the No. 17 singles player in the nation in Alicia Salas. They also have the No. 47 doubles team: sisters Catrina and Christian Thompson.
"Our match at Notre Dame Thursday could very well be a pivotal one in our season," said Lama. "They are ranked 19th and we are ranked No. 17, so we are similar teams at this point. We have come close against Notre Dame in recent years, but we have not been able to beat them. Winning would be a boost for us as we begin the Big Ten season."
Purdue will be Illinois' first Big Ten opponent of the season. The Illini are 18-24 all time against the Boilermakers, with the most recent meeting resulting in a Illinois 4-3 victory last spring. The teams share two so far this season. Purdue, like Illinois, lost to Tennessee earlier this season and defeated Western Michigan.
"It's important that we get off to a fast start in the Big Ten," said Lama. "Northwestern is still clearly the team to beat, but we are in the next group, along with Michigan and Indiana, all of whom could contend for the championship this season. I look at Purdue as a very dangerous team, so there is no chance that we will overlook them."
