The Fighting Illini women's tennis team enters post-season play this week as it takes on Wisconsin Friday at 10 a.m. ET in a quarterfinal match at the Big Ten Tournament in East Lansing, Mich.
Illinois (12-10, 6-4), though it finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference, earned the fourth seed in the tournament because of tie-breaking procedures that favored the Orange and Blue. The Fighting Illini had the best record against the teams with which they were tied: Purdue, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
The 53rd-ranked Illini closed out the regular season on a positive note, blitzing cellar-dwelling Minnesota, 7-0, at the Atkins Tennis Center Sunday for the squad's fourth shutout win of the year. The victory was the 100th in UI Coach Sujay Lama's career. The No. 4 seed marks the seventh time in his seven years at Illinois that his team has received a seed among the top five (meaning that the Illini have not yet had to play in the Thursday preliminary round of the Big Ten Tournament under Lama).
Lama's troops hope to equal or improve upon the performance that earned them a 4-3 win over the (now-38th-ranked) Badgers two weeks ago in Madison. That was one of nine 4-3 verdicts this season for the Orange and Blue; UI is 4-5 in those contests. In that confrontation, the Illini capitalized on a 9-8 (5) squeaker in the No. 1 match to take the doubles point; Cynthya Goulet, Momei Qu and Emily Wang contributed singles wins.
"We should derive some confidence from the fact that we beat Wisconsin at their place, even though it was a close match," said Lama. "I think our solid win over Minnesota Sunday will also contribute to a very positive outlook for our players. At the same time, we know Wisconsin will want revenge and will present a strong challenge for us. Both teams know each another well; it will be a matter of which team is able to make adjustments and execute. We can't be distracted."
One match that might serve as a motivator rather than a distraction is Illinois' quarterfinal upset loss (in a 3-seed-6-seed matchup) last year to Ohio State, a team it had beaten earlier.
"That loss really put a bad taste in our mouths," said Lama. "Our returning players remember the end of last year when we lost our two post-season matches (one at Big Ten and one in NCAA Tournament). They're determined to do better."
If the Illini get past Wisconsin Friday, the fifth-ranked and top-seeded Northwestern Wildcats would be Illinois' semifinal opponent, assuming the 'Cats take care of business against the winner of Thursday's 8-9 contest (Penn State vs. Ohio State).
Lama, who is 100-68 (.595) overall and 57-24 (.704) in Big Ten matches as a head coach, will stick with the same lineups he used down the stretch during the regular season--in singles: 1) senior Cynthya Goulet, 2) freshman Macall Harkins, 3) freshman Momei Qu, 4) junior Brianna Knue, 5) sophomore Emily Wang and 6) junior Pavlina Akritas; in doubles: 1) Goulet and Wang, 2) Knue and Harkins, and 3) Qu and Akritas.
Illinois has two 20-match singles winners: the 35th-ranked Goulet (28-6) and Qu (20-14), although Harkins (19-15) is poised to join them in that club. Goulet, who twice earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors this season, has won 21 of her last 23 matches; three of her six losses have been to Top-5 players, while 11 of her victories have come against ranked (top-125) opponents. Qu has won 12 of her last 15 matches. Goulet's 28 victories are good for a tie for seventh place on the Illini single season wins list.
On the doubles side, Goulet and Wang are ranked No. 60 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). They bring a 24-10 slate into the post-season, while Knue and Harkins have been the most productive in terms of sheer wins--they are 28-8. Knue's 28 doubles victories tie her for seventh place on the Illinois single season list; Harkins' 29 (she also won one match with Goulet) ties her for fourth on that same list.
The Badgers come into the tournament having ended the regular season with victories over Purdue and Ohio State. They are led by sophomore Caitlin Burke, ranked No. 103, and senior Katie McGaffigan, ranked No. 106. Illinois is 10-20 all-time against Wisconsin, however, the Fighting Illini have won the last six regular-season encounters and seven of the last eight (including post-season action).
A strong performance at the Big Ten Tournament could be enough to boost the Fighting Illini into the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in Lama's seven years at the school. Pairings will be announced next Wednesday afternoon, May 4.
