April 17, 2014
Minnesota Live Scoring
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini women's tennis team (11-9, 4-5 Big Ten) will travel to Minnesota and Wisconsin this weekend. The Illini and Golden Gophers will face off at 3 p.m. CT on Friday afternoon, and Sunday the Orange and Blue take on the Badgers Sunday April 20 at 11 a.m. CT.
FOR STARTERS
Illinois leads the close all-time series against Minnesota 26-18. During their last meeting, the Illini beat the Gophers 5-2 at the Atkins Tennis Center. The Orange and Blue last lost to Minnesota during the 2010-2011 season 3-4 in Minneapolis.
The Illini trail in the all-time series to Wisconsin 17-23. Illinois last faced the Badgers at the Atkins Tennis Center during 2013, where the Illini won 5-2. The last time the Orange and Blue lost to Wisconsin was during 2011 at Madison, where the Gophers came out with a 4-3 win.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Minnesota is 16-6 this spring, going 6-3 in Big Ten play so far. The Golden Gophers last faced Michigan State, winning 4-3 this past Sunday over the Spartans. The Gophers are ranked 59th in the nation, and have no individually ranked players.
The Badgers are 7-10 this season, and 2-7 in Big Ten play. This past weekend, Wisconsin fell to No. 60 Michigan State in East Lansing 6-1 and No. 14 Michigan in Ann Arbor 6-1. Wisconsin is currently not ranked as a team.
CAMPBELL/ITA NATIONAL RANKINGS
Illinois fell in the national rankings to 43, with no singles or doubles rankings. In the regional rankings, Melissa Kopinski is No. 10 in the Midwest singles, followed by Allison Falkin and Alexis Casati at No. 14 and No. 15 respectively. Kopinski/Casati are the only doubles team for Illinois in the rankings, holding steady at No. 10 in Midwest.
LAST TIME OUT
The Illini went 0-2 this past weekend, falling to both Michigan State and Michigan. Illinois fell 4-3 in a close match against the Spartans. The Orange and Blue traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich. on Sunday morning and lost to the Wolverines 7-0.
TOUGH COMPETITION
Twelve of Illinois' regular season opponents were nationally ranked to start the season, and five were in the top 25. Illinois sits at No. 44 and seven other Big Ten teams crack the rankings, including No. 11 Michigan, No. 15 Northwestern, No. 25 Nebraska, No. 27 Purdue, No. 40 Indiana, No. 49 Penn State, and No. 72 Ohio State.
UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue will return to action next weekend at the Big Ten women's tennis tournament April 24-27, hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.
