University of Illinois
Notre Dame
Orange and Blue Headed for No. 33 Notre Dame
January 30, 2016 | Women's Tennis
Fighting Illini in search of another upset
URBANA, Ill. – A week after an upset victory over No. 30 Virginia Tech in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, the Fighting Illini are in search of another upset, this time against No. 33 Notre Dame. The Orange and Blue have not defeated the Irish in dual play in over 10 seasons, but are looking to change that Sunday, Jan. 30. Action from South Bend, Indiana, is slated for a 10 a.m. CT start from the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
SCOUTING THE IRISH
Notre Dame enters Sunday's match with a 1-2 record after going 0-2 in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Irish fell to No. 10 Oklahoma State and 27th-ranked Arizona State in Stillwater, Oklahoma, both in 4-0 decisions. Notre Dame picked up their victory against Western Michigan at home on Jan. 19.
Quinn Gleason of the Irish ranks 57th individually across the nation. In the doubles rankings, Notre Dame's Gleason and Monica Robinson come in at 32nd.
The Illini are the first of two matches for the Irish on the day. Notre Dame also plays host to Bowling Green in an evening contest.
ALL-TIME AGAINST NOTRE DAME
The Fighting Illini are 8-27 all-time against Notre Dame. Last season, the Irish topped the Illini in Urbana by a 5-2 decision. March 4, 2004, was the last time the Illini defeated the Irish, with Illinois winning the match 5-2 in South Bend. The last time Illinois topped Notre Dame prior to that also happens to be the most recent win at home over the Irish, coming on Feb. 1, 1992, in a 5-4 decision. That match marked the first match ever played inside the Atkins Tennis Center. An unranked Illini squad took down 25th-ranked Notre Dame in the contest.
LAST TIME OUT
Ranked 58th at the time, the Fighting Illini participated in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend Lubbock, Texas, site last weekend. Third-seeded Illinois faced second-seeded No. 30 Virginia Tech in the opening round and grabbed a 4-3 victory. It took a trio of third-set victories in singles action but the Orange and Blue claimed the doubles point and picked up three singles wins thanks to Louise Kwong, Daniela Pedraza Novak and Madie Baillon.
The following day, Illinois matched up against the top-seeded hosts, No. 17 Texas Texas. UI's upset bid fell short in the 4-1 decision that favored the Red Raiders but the Illini did see some bright spots on the day. The unranked Fighting Illini doubles duo of Kwong and Ines Vias glided to a 6-1 victory at No. 1 doubles over their 25th-ranked Red Raider counterparts Kiro and Valenstein. The Illini duo led 4-0 before giving up a game in the match. Alexis Casati and Pedraza Novak worked to a 6-3 victory on the third doubles court to help the Illini secure the doubles point.
UI enters this weekend's match with a perfect 10-0 mark in completed doubles matches.
TOUGH COMPETITION
In the most recent Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Division I Women's Team rankings, the Fighting Illini come in at No. 53, five spots better than their ranking a week prior. Four of Illinois' 2016 opponents fell in the top 25 of the list. Additionally, eight Big Ten teams made an appearance in the rankings. Currently, 14 of UI's 22 regular season opponents can be found in the rankings.
BOONE IN THE RANKINGS
After a fall campaign that saw Boone finish 6-2, the junior made an individual appearance at No. 114 in the ITA Women's National Singles Rankings. The Chicago native was also one of three players to sport a 3-0 record at the Atkins Tennis Center last fall.
FOLLOW THE ILLINI
Follow this weekend's action live here: http://watchnd.tv/#!/notre-dame-tennis-live. For more coverage of the Orange and Blue visit FIGHTINGILLINI.com and be sure to follow the team on Twitter,Facebook and Instagram.
