Jan. 24, 2008

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois women's tennis team travels to Knoxville, Tenn. to take on the No. 22 Tennessee Lady Vols on Saturday, Jan. 26, with first serve set for 11 a.m. CT. The Orange and Blue (2-1, 0-0) are looking to rebound after a 4-3 loss to No. 62 Western Michigan on Jan. 21.

"This weekend is big for us because we will learn how mentally tough our team is after rebounding from our first loss of the season," head coach Michelle Dasso said. "We need to put the loss behind us and be ready to battle against a very good Tennessee team. This is an exciting opportunity for our players and hopefully we can make the most of it."

Sophomore Megan Fudge and redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan, who are 3-0 at No.1 doubles this season, go up against the nationally ranked No. 2 duo of Caitlin Whoriskey and Zsofia Zubor.

"(Megan) Fudge and (Leigh) Finnegan will most likely get another crack at the No. 2 ranked doubles team in the country," Dasso said. "Megan and Leigh lost to Whoriskey and Zubor back in the fall at the All-American tournament, so it's always fun to get a chance at redemption when the girls can just play tennis and not have nerves get in the way."

The match will be the Fighting Illini's second contest on the road this season, while also marking the first of two back-to-back road matches for Illinois, who then travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on Florida State on Feb. 3. The Illini return home on Feb. 8, when they take on DePaul for a 6 p.m. match at the Atkins Tennis Center.

A full recap and results can be found at fightingillini.com at the conclusion of the match. Live scoring for the match will be available at utladyvols.com.

LAST TIME OUT
The Illinois women's tennis team split a pair of home matches this past weekend. The Orange and Blue won their home opener over Marquette, 5-2, on Saturday, Jan. 19. The Illini dropped the doubles point but rebounded quickly from being down 2-0 to claim five straight singles victories.

Illinois then hosted No. 62 Western Michigan on Monday and battled to the last point, but a straight-sets victory on court three for the Broncos gave them a narrow 4-3 win. Sophomore Megan Fudge improved to 3-0 on the season with an upset victory (6-2, 6-2) over the Broncos No. 98 Kerstin Pahl.

FUDGE FLAWLESS
Sophomore Megan Fudge has started the season a perfect 3-0 in dual singles. In the season opening match against Florida Atlantic, the Kaarst, Germany native went 6-2, 6-2 against Elodie Wendling (FLATL). Fudge then returned home and continued to battle against Lauren Little (MARQ), rebounding from losing the first set, 5-7, to dominate the next two sets 6-2, 6-3. Fudge then used a home court advantage to upset No. 98 Kerstin Pahl (WMU) in straights, 6-2, 6-2.

SCOUTING THE LADY VOLS
The No. 22 Lady Vols (2-0) are coming off of a seven hour and seven minute 4-3 triumph over No. 12 North Carolina on Monday. No. 95 Zsofia Zubor claimed an 8-6 win over Meg Fanjoy (UNC) to give her team the victory. On the doubles side, the Vols are nationally ranked with No. 2 Caitlin Whoriskey and Zsofia Zubor at No. 1 slot, who are joined by the No. 26 duo of Ghizela Schutte and Rosalia Alda at No. 2 doubles.

The Lady Vols are led by the play of Whoriskey, playing at No. 1 singles. The Lady Vol was recently named the SEC Player of the Week.

UP NEXT
The match against Tennessee will be the Fighting Illini's second contest on the road this season, while also marking the first of two back-to-back road matches for Illinois. The Illini's next road match will be to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on Florida State on Feb. 3. The Illini return home on Feb. 8, when they take on DePaul for a 6 p.m. match at the Atkins Tennis Center.