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URBANA, Ill. – After over two weeks without a match, the Illinois women's tennis team is spending its spring break on the East Coast and will compete in three matches during the trip. On Wednesday March 23, the Orange and Blue will visit the College of Charleston. Two days later, UI will visit Rutgers for a conference matchup. Finally, the Illini will wrap up the trip with another Big Ten match at Maryland on Sunday.
AGAINST THE FIELD
The meeting between the College of Charleston and Illini on Wednesday will be just the second meeting ever between the two sides. Illinois owns the tally after taking down the Cougars in Charleston, 7-0, back in 2010.
Friday's match against the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers will mark just the third meeting all-time and second as Big Ten rivals. Illinois was victorious in both previous matches. Last season, Rutgers visited Champaign-Urbana for the first time and returned to New Jersey after suffering a 7-0 loss. The other meeting between the programs came during the 1990 season and saw Illinois return to campus with a 7-2 win at Rutgers.
On Sunday, Illinois and Maryland will square off for the fourth time in program history. UI will enter the match with the 2-1 advantage in the series. Last season, the Illini shut out the Terps in a 7-0 decision at the Atkins Tennis Center. In the meeting prior to last year's contest, No. 47 Illinois took down 37th-ranked Maryland in a neutral-site match in a 6-3 decision in 2000. The first match between the two sides took place in 1997 in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maryland claimed the victory.
ILLINI DOUBLES DOMINANCE
The Fighting Illini enter the week's contests with a combined doubles record of 21-7 on the dual season. No more than three losses have been registered in any of the three doubles slots. The Illini tandem of Ines Vias and Louise Kwong has spent much of the spring ranked as a doubles tandem after taking down some of the country's top duos. Illinois has claimed the doubles point in nine of its 11 matches so far this spring.
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