March 26, 2006

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 59th-ranked Illinois women's tennis team lost to 35th-ranked Indiana 6-1 at the Indiana Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon. The loss drops Illinois' record to 5-9 and 0-3 in the Big Ten, while the Hoosiers improve to 13-4 and a perfect 3-0 in the conference.

"I thought the difference in today's match was that our confidence was fragile," head coach Sujay Lama said. "We need to dig deep and try to turn this thing around versus Ohio State this weekend."

The Illini found themselves in a similar position in Lama's first year. His squad dropped three conference matches in a row before rattling off seven straight victories en route to a third place finish in the Big Ten. The eighth year head coach is confident his team can do it again this year.

The Illini's injury depleted lineup forced them to default in the No. 3 doubles match. Indiana took a 1-0 lead as Sigrid Fischer and Brianna Williams claimed to doubles point at the No. 2 position by defeating senior Brianna Knue and freshman Shivani Dave, 8-0. The Illini's 37th-ranked tandem of junior Emily Wang and sophomore Macall Harkins were defeated by Sarah Batty and Laura McGaffigan, 8-5.

Sophomore Macall Harkins picked up her fourth singles win in a row, all at the No. 1 position, outlasting Sarah Batty 6-4, 3-6, 1-0(5) to put the Illini on the board after falling behind 5-0. Dave took her match into a third set too, but couldn't convert her third set tiebreaker into a win. Alba Berdala beat the Illini freshman 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(2) at No. 5. Indiana won the remaining four tilts in straight sets.

Illinois will regroup before hosting Ohio State, Sunday, April 2 at 10:00 a.m.

No. 35 Indiana def. No. 59 Illinois, 6-1
March 26, 2006
Indiana Tennis Center, Bloomington, Ind.

Singles
1. Macall Harkins (ILL) def. Sarah Batty (IU); 6-4, 3-6, 1-0(5)
2. Lauren McGaffigan (IU) def. Momei Qu (ILL); 6-0, 6-2
3. Brianna Willliams (IU) def. Brianna Knue (ILL); 6-2, 6-2
4. Sigrid Fischer (IU) def. Emily Wang (ILL); 6-4, 6-2
5. Alba Berdala (IU) def. Shivani Dave (ILL); 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(2)
6. Cecile Perton (IU) def. Alejandra Meza Cuadra (ILL); 6-0, 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 6, 3, 4, 1, 5

Doubles 1. Batty/McGaffigan (IU) def. No. 37 Harkins/Wang (ILL); 8-5
2. Fischer/Williams (IU) def. Knue/Dave (ILL); 8-0
3. Berdala/Perton (IU) won by default
Order of finish: 2, 1