University of Illinois
#36 Florida State
Illini Defeat No. 36 Florida State
March 10, 2017 | Women's Tennis
Illinois tops Florida State on the road, 4-0
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Illinois women's tennis team defeated No. 36 Florida State in a Friday afternoon road match, 4-0. The Fighting Illini improve to 4-8 on the season, while Florida State falls to 8-5.
"I'm really happy for our team," said head coach Evan Clark. "It was great to see their faces and reactions when we won the match. We always talk about how the tough schedule and hard work they continue to put in will pay off, so it was nice to get a glimpse of what that feels like."
Illinois grabbed the lead early and never looked back. Louise Kwong and Ines Vias topped Florida State's pair of Julia Mikulski and Andrea Garcia at the No. 2 doubles match, 6-0. The doubles point was clinched by Madie Baillon and Jaclyn Switkes when they took down the 56th-ranked duo of Nandini Das and Ariana Rahmanparast, 6-1, at the No. 1 doubles position.
"The doubles point was fantastic today, maybe our best one yet this year," Clark said. "We challenged them to come out with great energy and maintain that energy throughout the whole point, and they did just that."
The Illini just kept right on rolling in singles play, winning the No. 5, No. 6 and No. 1 matches in straight sets. Daniela Pedraza Novak defeated Rahmanparast at the No. 5 position, 6-1, 6-4, followed by a Grace Tapak's win at the No. 6 singles match over Garcia, 6-3, 6-4. Illinois clinched the match at the No. 1 spot when Kwong earned the win over Gabriella Castaneda, 6-4, 7-5.
"I thought everyone did a fantastic job in singles as well," Clark said. "It was a great team effort by our group today and we will certainly take a lot of confidence away from this match."
UP NEXT
The Illini will return home to host two matches next Friday, the first of five-straight home matches. Illinois will play Texas Tech on Friday, March 17, at 2 p.m. CT and Saint Louis at 6 p.m. CT.
Illinois 4, #36 Florida State 0
DOUBLES
1. Jaclyn Switkes/Madie Baillon (ILL) def. #56 Nandini Das/Ariana Rahmanparast (FS) 6-1
2. Louise Kwong/Ines Vias (ILL) def. Julia Mikulski/Andrea Garcia (FS) 6-0
3. Daniela Schippers/Gabriella Castaneda (FS) vs. Alexis Casati/Daniela Pedraza Novak (ILL) 2-3, unfinished
Order of finish: (2,1)
SINGLES
1. Louise Kwong (ILL) def. Gabriella Castaneda (FS) 6-4, 7-5
2. Nandini Das (FS) vs. Alexis Casati (ILL) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0, unfinished
3. Julia Mikulski (FS) vs. #109 Madie Baillon (ILL) 6-7 (3-7), 3-3, unfinished
4. Daniela Schippers (FS) vs. Jaclyn Switkes (ILL) 6-3, 6-5, unfinished
5. Daniela Pedraza Novak (ILL) def. Ariana Rahmanparast (FS) 6-1, 6-4
6. Grace Tapak (ILL) def. Andrea Garcia (FS) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: (5,6,1)
