April 12, 2005
Illinois hosts No. 26 Notre Dame Wednesday afternoon hoping to end its three-match home stand on a positive note before visiting the No. 3-ranked team in the country later this weekend. The Orange and Blue, now ranked 54th, split matches at the UI Atkins Tennis Center this past weekend, defeating then-No. 62 Michigan State, 5-2, before falling to then-No. 38 Michigan, 4-3.
As a result of the setback against Michigan, the Illini missed the opportunity to share second place in the Big Ten with Indiana. Instead the Orange and Blue is in a three-way tie with Iowa and Purdue, one match behind the Hoosiers and two-and-a-half behind undefeated pacesetter Northwestern.
Head Coach Sujay Lama knows, with the postseason less than a month away, the Illini must be playing at their best.
"Last year, seven Big Ten teams made it into the NCAA Tournament; this year I see five teams going, and we still have a shot to be one of them," Lama said. "At this point, I think we have to win at least three and maybe four of our remaining matches to get in as a team."
The Fighting Irish hold a 15-9 advantage since the series began during the 1980-1981 season, but Illinois, ranked No. 17 at the time, was victorious, 5-2, in South Bend last year; that was Notre Dame's (then No. 19) only home loss of the season. Cynthya Goulet and Brianna Knue both claimed victories in that match. Apart from last year, the Illini have suffered two close defeats and two lopsided defeats in the past five years.
Goulet and Knue will presumably be in the lineup Wednesday as the senior closes in on some history. Ranked 41st by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), Goulet (24-5) has a chance to surpass last year's 26 wins this weekend and move into a tie for ninth place in the record book for singles victories in a season. The senior from Canada, who has been Illinois' No. 1 singles player all season, has won 18 of her last 19 matches. Meanwhile, freshman Momei Qu, who has settled in at the No. 3 spot, is on a roll of her own; she has won 10 of her last 12. Harkins, also a freshman, has been impressive at No. 2 singles. She has gone 5-1 in Big Ten play. All told, the top half of Illinois' singles lineup is 17-1 in conference competition. On the other hand, the bottom of the lineup has struggled, going 2-16 in Big Ten play.
Having already tied the school's second-winningest coach, Mary Tredennick, with Saturday's win over Michigan State (they both have 98), Lama could win his 100th career match as UI head coach as early as Saturday at Wisconsin.
Notre Dame boasts the country's fourth- ranked doubles tandem, twins Catrina and Christian Thompson. The pair, (23-4) has two fewer wins than Illinois' Knue and Harkins (25-6), and two more than Goulet and sophomore Emily Wang's 21. If Harkins and Knue are able to win all three upcoming matches, they would tie Carrie Costigan for fifth place in the single-season doubles wins list in the Orange and Blue record book.
Jay Louderback's Irish are 5-1 against teams from the Big Ten this season, topping Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, Purdue, Indiana and losing to Wisconsin. Like Illinois, Notre Dame visits Northwestern later this week.
After battling Notre Dame, Illinois plays at No. 33 Wisconsin and at No. 3 Northwestern, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
"This week will be very challenging for us," Lama said. "We'll be playing three teams ranked higher than us, and they will all be in the NCAA Tournament. At the same time, I think we're playing our best tennis of the year now."
At Wisconsin, Illinois competes against a McGaffigan for the second time in three weeks.
The eldest McGaffigan sister, Jennifer, who graduated last year from Illinois, ranks at or near the top in every tennis statistic, including most career singles wins (105) and most career doubles wins (104). Her sister, Laura, who plays at Indiana, lost to Qu March 26. The Illini will face No. 91 Katie McGaffigan and the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison. The Badgers, who lead the all-time series with Illinois, 20-9. also feature another Top-100 singles player, No. 83 Caitlin Burke. The Fighting Illini will attempt to win their sixth in a row over Wisconsin when they meet this weekend.
Northwestern is undefeated in the Big Ten, but has two losses outside the conference--to No. 13 Georgia and No. 24 California. Freshman Audra Cohen and junior Cristelle Grier team up to form the nation's top doubles tandem with a 27-2 record. Each player has been ranked as the top singles player in the country earlier this season.
Cohen enters weekend play with a 38-4 record; three of her losses have come to Top-10 opponents. Grier, the preseason No. 1 player, is currently ranked No. 16 with a 27-6 record. Three of her losses were to Cohen. As a team, Illinois is 7-34 against the Wildcats but claims two triumphs in the past five years.
Illinois will wrap up the regular season the weekend of April 23-24 with home matches against Iowa and Minnesota.
