Box Score 

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.  – The Fighting Illini women's tennis team topped the William & Mary Tribe, 4-2 on Friday morning. Illinois defeated the Tribe for the first time in program history and improve to 3-0 this season.

Illinois took the doubles point for the third-consecutive match with wins on courts one and two. Junior Daniela Pedraza-Novak and freshman Sasha Belaya defeated Stepanova and Thaler, 6-3. The No. 45-ranked Illini pairing of junior Jaclyn Switkes and freshman Emilee Duong clinched the point for Illinois with a 6-3 win over Cheng and Goodman.

William & Mary earned the first singles point with a win on court six. Freshman Mia Rabinowitz reclaimed the lead for Illinois with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Ekaterina Stepanova at the No. 3 position. Duong would fall on court four, but Switkes defeated No. 68-ranked Clara Tanielian to give the Illini a 3-2 advantage. Pedraza-Novak clinched the Orange and Blue victory on court five after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Thaler.

Up next, the Illini will take on No. 5 North Carolina at 2:30 pm CT on Saturday in Chapel Hill.

Head Coach Evan Clark's Thoughts

"It was great to get another quality win over a very good William & Mary team. Once again we were put in some pretty tough positions and I continue to be pleased with how we handle and manage those situations.

The doubles point was crucial today. Sasha (Belaya) and Dani (Pedraza-Novak) did a great job of taking control midway through the match and Emilee (Duong) and Jaclyn (Switkes) did a fantastic job of digging out of an early hole and winning six-straight games. In singles, we were very fortunate to get routine wins from Mia (Rabinowitz), Jaclyn and Dani. We are very excited to have the opportunity to play a top-5 team in North Carolina tomorrow."

Final Results

Doubles-Order of Finish: 2, 1*

1.  #45 Switkes/Duong (Illinois) def. Cheng/Goodman (WM) 6-3
2.  Pedraza-Novak/Belaya (Illinois) def. Stepanova/Thaler (WM) 6-3
3.  Kawai/Rabinowitz (Illinois) vs. Okuyama/Tanielian (WM) 4-5, unf.

Singles-Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4, 2, 5*

1.  #114 Asuka Kawai (Illinois) vs. Rosie Cheng (WM) 5-7, 3-2, unf.
2.  Jaclyn Switkes (Illinois) def. #68 Clara Tanielian (WM) 6-3, 6-0
3.  Mia Rabinowitz (Illinois) def. Ekaterina Stepanova (WM) 6-1, 6-2
4.  Natalie Perry (WM) def. Emilee Duong (Illinois) 6-0, 6-3
5.  Daniela Pedraza-Novak (Illinois) def. Olivia Thaler (WM) 6-4, 6-2
6.  Lauren Goodman (WM) def. Grace Tapak (Illinois) 6-2, 6-0

Records- Illinois: 3-0 | William and Mary 1-3  

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