Jan. 26, 2012
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini women's tennis team (3-0) will look to continue its early success at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kick-Off Weekend, hosted by Duke, Jan. 27-29. Third-seeded Illinois will face second-seeded Winthrop in the first round on Friday at 9 a.m. CT, followed by top-seeded Duke and fourth-seeded College of Charleston at 1 p.m. The winners will square off on Saturday at 5 p.m., while the consolation final will take place Sunday at 8 a.m.
"The ITA Kick-off Weekend is an exciting event to potentially earn your way into one of the most prestigious team tournaments of the spring," Illini head coach Michelle Dasso said. "This team is off to a good start and we look forward to facing different competition that we don't typically play."
WHAT'S AT STAKE
ITA Kick-Off Weekend features 60 schools at 15 host sites, where each team will vie for one of the final 15 spots in the 2012 ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Feb. 10-13 at the Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va. The 15 schools that win both of their matches in their four-team tournament will receive invitations to the national championship, while this year's host, the University of Virginia, received an automatic bid into the Sweet 16. The top 15 nationally ranked teams in the final 2011 team rankings were chosen as Kick-off Weekend hosts, including Duke, North Carolina, UCLA, Baylor, Miami, Georgia, California, Michigan, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Arizona State.
CAMPBELL/ITA NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Illini moved up a spot to No. 68 in the latest team rankings, which were released Jan. 24, while senior Chelcie Abajian and junior Breanne Smutko remain at No. 27 in doubles.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
No. 67 Winthrop (3-2) will look to bounce back after a 6-1 loss to Clemson earlier this week. Friday's match will mark the first time the Illini have met Winthrop in a dual setting.
No. 3 Duke (2-0) is one of two schools that boast six nationally ranked players, including No. 7 Beatrice Capra, No. 35 Monica Turewicz, No. 38 Hanna Mar, No. 66 Mary Clayton, No. 97 Annie Mulholland and No. 118 Rachel Kahan. The Blue Devils are coming off a 6-1 win over Indiana. The Illini are 1-4 all-time against Duke, with Illinois' lone win coming in 2003, when the Blue Devils were the top-ranked team in the country.
College of Charleston is 0-1 on the season with a 5-2 loss to Clemson last week. The Illini are 1-0 against the Cougars, capturing a 7-0 victory in 2010.
LAST TIME OUT
The Illini cruised to two 7-0 victories last Saturday at Atkins Tennis Center to start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2001. The Orange and Blue captured dominating wins over Western Illinois and Illinois State and were efficient all day, winning every match in straight sets while dropping only 13 games over both dual matches.
Sophomore Allison Falkin led the Illini with two 6-0, 6-0 wins at No. 1 singles, while newcomers Melissa Kopinski and Julia Jamieson each added two singles victories as well.
UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue will return home to host SMU on Friday, Feb. 3 at Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana.
