University of Illinois
UC Santa Barbara
Illinois Comes Up Just Short Against Gauchos
March 24, 2015 | Women's Tennis
Results
SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. - Despite claiming the doubles point, the Fighting Illini women's tennis team fell just short in its match against UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, March 24. Illinois moved to 7-6 on the season with the 4-3 loss in Santa Barbara, California.
After a hard-fought battle, the Fighting Illini came away with the doubles point over UC Santa Barbara thanks to wins on courts one and two. Melissa Kopinski and Louise Kwong teamed up to win their seventh doubles contest of the season, including their last five decisions. The senior-sophomore duo took the set 6-2. UCSB took the match on court three over Grace Tapak and Alexis Casati by a 7-5 decision. The doubles point came down to Jerricka Boone and Madie Baillon who teamed up on court two to get the doubles clincher for the Orange and Blue by a score of 7-6(2).
Court two was the first to finish in the singles competition as UCSB's Natalie Da Silveira topped Kopinski in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. The Gaucho win tied the match at 1-1, but soon after Casati fell on court one in a pair of 6-4 sets. UCSB picked up its third point of the match when play concluded on court six with Boone falling 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.
Tapak pulled Illinois within a point with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 win on court five. The first year Illini is now 6-3 on the spring. Next, Kwong claimed court three matchup by a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) decision to move to 7-5 on the season and tie the match at 3-3. The match was decided on court four where Hilton and UCSB's Scatliffe battled to a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 decision that favored the hosts.
"We squeaked out the doubles point, but we didn't play like we had the momentum in our first sets of singles," shared head coach Michelle Dasso. "We can't always rely on the top of our singles lineup for wins. A lot of 4-3 matches come down to trusting yourself in the moment and UCSB did a little better job of that today, so you have to give them credit. Tomorrow is a new day."
Tomorrow, the Fighting Illini will take on Hawaii in Santa Barbara. Following the pair of contests in California, the Illinois unit will head straight to the state of Michigan, where the Illini will face Michigan State on Saturday, March 28 at 11 a.m. CST and Michigan the following day at 11 a.m. CST.
