April 26, 2006

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Big Ten women's tennis tournament returns to the Atkins Tennis Center for the second time in four seasons when Illinois and head coach Sujay Lama host the conference draw beginning Thursday, April 27.

Northwestern, who has won the Big Ten conference title in six of the last eight seasons, blanked Ohio State on Sunday to end the regular season with an 18-4 record and an unbeaten mark in 10 conference matches. Claire Pollard's `Cats boast three netters in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's top-45 along with two ranked doubles tandems and seek to pounce on their eighth conference championships in as many years.

Only the Wildcats prevented a perfect Big Ten season for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Second-year coach Daryl Greenan guided the Gold and Black to the best conference record in school history and is three victories away from tying the most wins in school history. Junior Meg Racette heads the Hawkeyes lineup as the nation's 37th-ranked singles player. Sophomore Mili Veselinovic stands at No. 82.

Each of this past weekend's contests had implications for the tournament field. No outcome had a more direct impact than Michigan's meeting with Indiana on the season's final day. Home-court advantage and senior Debra Streifler's wins in singles and doubles play highlighted a 5-2 win, the Wolverines' 12th triumph in 15 matches. Victorious Michigan established itself as the conference's third seed (8-2) and Indiana fell to fourth at 7-3. Streifler and junior Kara Delicata combine to form the nation's 30th-ranked duo. The pair is 13-2 and has won 10 consecutive matches.

Despite losing her doubles partner to graduation last season, Indiana senior Sarah Batty increased her doubles wins by twofold in 2006 with junior partner Laura McGaffigan. Together the Hoosiers' No. 1 pair accrued a 25-10 regular season mark (7-3 in conference.) Individually, Batty captured Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors on Feb. 15 and March 22.

Purdue, the Big Ten's final ranked team, recovered from consecutive losses to the rival Wildcats and Hawkeyes to close with their third Big Ten shutout on Sunday in Minneapolis. Freshman Randi Schuler scored her 27th singles victory as the country's 98th-ranked player while fellow first-year netter Mallory Voelker grabbed her 29th victory.

For the first time in Coach Lama's eight-year tenure, his team did not receive a No. 5 seed or higher and the subsequent first round bye. Illinois finds itself in a very different position this year than it was in when the Big Ten Tournament came to town three years ago. Whereas the 2002-2003 team possessed plenty of veteran experience with five upperclassmen, the 2005-2006 version has only seniors Brianna Knue and Pavlina Akritas as well as junior Emily Wang. Unlike when three-year veteran Tiffany Eklov's individual success (26-10 singles record) led the Orange and Blue to team accomplishments (15-6 entering the conference draw, 17-8 at season's end), sophomore Macall Harkins has been one of a few highlights for the Illini.

Nine consecutive wins earned the second-year player conference and national recognition, as she joined Racette, Batty and Northwestern's Georgia Rose as the league's only two-time 2006 Athlete of the Week winners and received her first ITA ranking of 95. With victories over Southern California's 10th-ranked Amanda Fink and Northwestern's 14th-rated senior Cristelle Grier, Harkins leapt to No. 56 and is situated at No. 63 in this week's rankings

"This is an opportunity for us to finish the season in a positive fashion," Illinois head coach Sujay Lama said. "It has been a very challenging year from a results standpoint especially in the Big Ten where we have been successful for the last couple of years. But, we've been very competitive and I think we've been playing our best tennis the past three weeks. We are looking forward to hosting the tournament, especially after playing seven conference matches on the road."

Coach Lama also thinks it will be a great opportunity for the community.

"There is no doubt we have some of the best fans in the country," Lama said. "The support has been as good this year as it ever has. People are really excited to try and help us with their energy and I think it's exciting for the campus. Anytime you host a Big Ten Championship it is a plus for the University and also the community. Not only are they going to enjoy cheering us on, but they will enjoy all the other Big Ten teams too and that's important."

Harkins and the Illini play one of two opening matches on Thursday at 10 a.m. Contests will be played at the Atkins Tennis Center and the Illini Grove tennis courts on the first two days and solely at the Atkins Tennis Center on Saturday and Sunday.

Admission to matches played at Atkins Tennis Center and Illini Groove Tennis Courts is free. An inclement weather plan, tournament information, and results from the Big Ten Championships, which will be updated every fifteen minutes, can be found on fightingillini.com.