April 7, 2005
The Fighting Illini women's tennis team is primed for the meat of its 2005 Big Ten season; with five matches in a span of nine days; the squad can play itself in or out of contention for a high finish in the conference and its seventh NCAA Tournament berth in the last nine seasons.
The first three of those five contests will be played at the UI Atkins Tennis Center, starting with Saturday's noon clash with No. 62 Michigan State. The Illini entertain 38th-ranked Michigan Sunday (11 a.m.) and No. 31 Notre Dame Wednesday, April 13 (3:30 p.m.). Coming into this stretch, the Orange and Blue (3-1) is tied with Iowa for third place in the Big Ten. Coach Sujay Lama's troops are one match ahead of the Wolverines and the Wisconsin Badgers prior to this weekend's play.
"These next five matches represent the most important part of our schedule, because how we do during this stretch will affect not only the Big Ten standings, but also seedings for the Big Ten Tournament and a possible bid for the NCAA Tournament," said Lama.
The coach hopes last weekend's performance in a 5-2 win at Ohio State was a preview for the rest of the season.
"If what I saw (on our part) last weekend can continue, we'll be fine. That was the best we have played this year as a team. Having such a young team this year, I believed, or at least hoped, that we'd start to peak at this point in the season. This will be a very tough stretch for us, but I think we will be up to the challenge."
Michigan State enters the weekend with a 1-4 record but jumped 13 spots in the latest rankings. Senior Keri Thompson (16-11), ranked 121st by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) leads the Spartans, who defeated Big Ten foe Minnesota, but lost to Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Iowa. The Illini are 21-9 over the years against MSU; Illinois shut out the Spartans last year in Champaign-Urbana.
Michigan, on the other hand, sits at the .500 mark (8-8) prior to its Saturday match at Purdue. The Wolverines, who are 3-2 in conference play with wins over Michigan State, Iowa and Minnesota, have had three non-conference opponents in common with Illinois: Western Michigan (Illinois lost, 4-3; Michigan won, 6-1), Tennessee (Illinois lost, 4-3; Michigan lost, 5-0) and Marquette (Illinois won, 6-1; Michigan won, 6-1). The Illini are 11-17 in the all-time series with the Wolverines; UI won at home last season, 5-2). Senior Michelle DaCosta (13-12) is ranked 53rd and heads Michigan's lineup this season.
Illinois senior Cynthya Goulet enters the weekend with a 22-5 recprd and the No. 41 ITA ranking, the highest of her career. Two of the five losses are to top-five players. Goulet, who has won her last four contests in a row, is just four shy of tying last year's victory total (26-9), which left her tied for 11th place on the UI single-season wins list.
"Cynthya has had one of the best starts in the history of our program, particularly at the No. 1 spot. The younger kids look up to her. Even when she's not playing her best, she manages to find ways to win," Lama said.
Goulet's success seems to be rubbing off on her roommate, Brianna Knue. The junior is riding a three-match win-streak for the first time this season. Additionally, freshman Momei Qu, who has won eight of her last 10 matches, looks for her fifth consecutive triumph Saturday.
"I sense the players' confidence rising--especially Brianna's. She's been playing much better lately," Lama said. "Since she's feeling better about her game; her enthusiasm has picked up. She's almost a different person now, and that rubs off on the rest of the team."
Meanwhile, assuming freshman Macall Harkins' knee holds up, she and Knue should continue to move up the Orange and Blue single-season doubles wins list. The pair has 23 triumphs; wins this weekend and Wednesday at home against Notre Dame would tie them for ninth place on the list.
Harkins and Knue have played mostly at the No. 2 spot behind Goulet and sophomore Emily Wang in the lineup. Controlling the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, the pairs have compiled a 22-6 record in dual match competitions. Four different combinations put together a 6-9 record in the No. 3 spot. Lama elected to start junior Pavlina Akritas along with Qu at the position this weekend and for the foreseeable future.
"(Akritas and Qu) are very focused players, and they have great chemistry. They're both very smart--engineering majors--and they're good at developing strategies that play to each of their strengths," Lama said.
Coaching in his seventh season, Lama has a chance to pass former Illini mentor Mary Tredennick on the career coaching victories list. Two wins this weekend would give him 99 victories and a.607 winning percentage. Lama came into the season as the Orange and Blue's career winning percentage leader at .603. Tredennick ended her Illinois career (1982-1987) with 98 wins and a .473 winning percentage.
Following Saturday's match, MSU travels to Purdue for a Sunday tilt. Michigan hosts the Buckeyes April 16. Illinois hosts Notre Dame Wednesday before visiting Wisconsin and Northwestern next weekend.
