May 12, 2004
The 22nd-ranked Illini women's tennis team (17-5 overall, 8-3 Big Ten) looks to finish its best season to date on a high note as it journeys to Durham, N.C. to open NCAA Tournament play against No. 36 William & Mary (19-12). Match time is 9 a.m. CDT Friday. In the other first-round contest, fourth-ranked and seventh-seeded Duke (19-4) will take on unranked Furman (18-7) at 1 p.m. CDT. The winners of those two matches will vie Saturday at 3 p.m. CDT for a spot in the Sweet 16. The last four rounds of the NCAA Tournament will take place in Athens, Ga., May 20-23. The NCAA individual singles and doubles tournaments will be contested in Athens May 24-29.
Illinois is 0-2 all-time vs. the Tribe, but the two teams have not met in tennis since the 1993-94 campaign. Many of the Illini will recognize at least one face on the other side of the net-junior Kate Boomershine, who was recruited to Illinois and played just one year, in 2001-02. The Illini have never played Furman; they are 1-4 against Duke. The win against the Blue Devils came last year at the UI Atkins Tennis Center when the visitors were ranked No. 1 in the nation.
The Fighting Illini are 2-5 in NCAA Tournament play, with opening-round victories over Virginia Commonwealth in 2001 and Nevada-Las Vegas last year.
BEST YEAR EVER
Illinois is nearing the end of the best season in its history, despite the fact that it came up short in its bid for its first-ever Big Ten title. The Illini were reeling after the loss of No. 5 singles starter, sophomore Brianna Knue (season-ending leg stress fracture) after the April 17 win over Michigan; they lost, 4-3, at Indiana April 24, in a match that would have clinched at least a tie for the conference regular-season championship. The Orange and Blue was subsequently upset, 4-2, in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament by Ohio State April 30.
"We have needed some time to regroup after the last two matches," said Illinois Head Coach Sujay Lama. "There's no question we have missed Brianna. She brought a lot to the table with her competitiveness and spirit. But injuries are a part of sports. We need to move on, and I think the players are ready. Our team has had a great season, and particularly for the seniors, we're hoping to end it on a high note.
"We're not just happy to be in the NCAA Tournament; we've been there before. We've never been to the Sweet 16 before, and that has been one of our goals this season."
TOP WINNING PERCENTAGE, WIN STREAK
Illinois' current winning percentage is .773, and even in a worst-case scenario with a final record of 17-6, the percentage would be .739, the best in the program's history, with the exception of its first year, when the team went 6-0 in 1975. That winning percentage was boosted by the longest winning streak in the 30 seasons of UI women's tennis, 11 matches; the string of victories went from March 13 through April 18.
TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
The Fighting Illini are not lacking players with NCAA Tournament experience. Seniors Tiffany Eklov and Jennifer McGaffigan are veterans in terms of post-season playoff matches played. This will be their third NCAA tourney experience in their four years at Illinois. Junior Leila Cehajic and senior Eva Choe (torn ACL last year) are entering their second national tournament; this will be the first for junior Cynthya Goulet, sophomore Pavlina Akritas and freshmen Emily Wang and Isabel Jarosz.
COACH Sujay Lama
Illinois Head Coach Sujay Lama is in his sixth year with the program. His record with the Illini is 88-57 (.607); his UI teams are 51-20 (.718) against Big Ten teams. The Orange and Blue has been in the upper division throughout his tenure in Champaign-Urbana. In his six seasons, the Fighting Illini have finished third, tied-for-second, second, tied-for-fourth, third and third in the league.
McGAFFIGAN ASSAULTS THE RECORD BOOK
Senior Jennifer McGaffigan is the winningest player in the history of Illinois women's tennis. The Davenport, Iowa native has career records of 104-57 in singles and 104-47 in doubles as she heads into NCAA Tournament play. She recently passed All-American Lindsey Nimmo (103) to get to the top of the UI career singles victories list; midway through the year, McGaffigan took over the top spot on the career doubles ledger, passing Kathy Neil (87). McGaffigan's 204 combined singles and doubles wins is also a UI record. She has been in the starting lineup for both singles and doubles in all 96 of the dual matches Illinois has played during her career; McGaffigan played at No. 1 singles in 91 of those and at the No. 2 spot in the other five contests.
McGaffigan, who has been ranked as high as No. 14 this season by the ITA, is now ranked No. 38. She leads the Illini in singles victories this season with 29; she is tied with partner Cynthya Goulet for the team leadership in doubles victories, also with 29. Her top singles win came against No. 5 Chloe Carlotti of Fresno State.
McGaffigan has earned some extraordinary honors this season, including selection to the NCAA individual tournaments for the second time in both singles and doubles. She was named Illinois' female Big Ten Medal of Honor winner (top female varsity athlete in terms of both academic and athletic excellence) last week. The previous week she received All-Big Ten distinction for the fourth consecutive year (she is Illinois' first four-time All-Big Ten performer). She received the Strength & Conditioning Award for the second time and was named the team MVP for the third time in her four years at its annual banquet May 3. McGaffigan and Illini men's tennis star Brian Wilson will represent the ITA and American collegiate tennis next month on an exhibition tour of China. The all-star team was selected by the ITA's board of directors for the players' outstanding tennis achievements as well as for their sportsmanship and ambassadorial qualities.
McGaffigan is one of three sisters who all competed for different Big Ten tennis teams this season. Katie is a junior at Wisconsin and Laura is a freshman at Indiana. Jennifer lost to Katie in doubles, but beat her in singles April 3 when the Illini beat the Badgers in Champaign-Urbana. The eldest McGaffigan didn't face her Hoosier sibling directly, although the Cream and Crimson won, 4-3, in Bloomington April 24, to knock the Illini out of a possible regular-season Big Ten co-championship
GOULET AND McGAFFIGAN LEAD THE WAY IN DOUBLES
Last year McGaffigan and then-senior Michelle Webb set a UI record for doubles wins in a season with 31; the duo advanced to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. This year, McGaffigan's partner is junior Cynthya Goulet; these two have put together a 28-8 record going into play in the national tournament. They have been ranked as high as No. 7 nationally this season, and now check in at No. 15. Their best win came April 4 when they beat second-ranked Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush of Northwestern. The pair would appear to have a shot at All-America status. They would be so honored if they reach the quarterfinals in the NCAA Doubles Tournament or end up among the Top 10 in the final ITA ranking, which comes out June 4.
CANADIAN ON A STREAK
Goulet, who hails from the Montreal area, has come on strong this season in this, her third year, at Illinois. She played sparingly as a freshman two years ago; she sat out last season due to an NCAA academic eligibility technicality having to do with her move from Canada to the U.S. Goulet, in addition to her doubles exploits with McGaffigan, has served notice that she will be a force to be reckoned with next year. She has a 25-9 singles record to date, and she comes into the NCAA Tournament having won her last 14 singles matches, mostly at the No. 3 spot. Her hot streak and undefeated record in Big Ten play earned her all-conference honors.
Goulet has also been spectacular in the classroom. At last week's Fighting Illini Scholar-Athlete Banquet, she was recognized for having the best grade point average of any female varsity athlete in her classf at Illinois-3.9 in Finance.
20-MATCH WINNERS
McGaffigan and Goulet are certainly not the only Illini players to achieve significant success this season. Senior Tiffany Eklov (22-13) and sophomore Brianna Knue (20-9) have joined the 20-win club, and freshman Isabel Jarosz is just one win away (19-12). Eklov, in particular, has had flashes of brilliance this year. During a mid-season stretch, she won 18 of her 20 singles matches, including her top victory of the campaign, a decisive 6-0, 6-3 win over 38th-ranked Jessica Rush of Northwestern that helped lead the Orange and Blue to an upset of the Wildcats. Eklov has also won her way to the No. 4 spot on the Illinois career singles wins list-she is 87-55 and just two triumphs short of the No. 3 player on the list, Maureen McNamara (89-60 in 1980-84).
LINEUPS
Lama is expected to keep the top of his singles lineup intact for the NCAA Tournament. McGaffigan will hit at No. 1 singles, followed by Eklov at No. 2, Goulet at No. 3, Jarosz at No. 4, Choe at No. 5 and Wang at No. 6. Choe's rehabilitated (ACL) knee has been stable of late, but if it acts up, Akritas could move in at No. 6 and Wang would slide up to No. 5.
In doubles, Goulet and McGaffigan are locked in at No. 1. Lama is expected to go with Eklov and Choe in the No. 2 position, instead of Eklov and Jarosz, as he as been doing lately. Lama says the decision of whom to play at No. 3 could come at match time, with any combination from among Wang, Cehajic, Jarosz and Akritas getting the call.
