Box Score 

MONTGOMERY, Ala.  – The No. 5 Fighting Illini women's tennis team topped the Yale Bulldogs, 4-1 on Friday afternoon in the opening round of the 2018 Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. The Illini improve to 8-1 overall this season, the program's best start since 1982.

After dropping the doubles point, Illinois got on the board with a win from junior Daniela Pedraza-Novak, 6-0, 6-0 on court five. Freshmen Emilee Duong and Sasha Belaya were next off the courts, respectively. Junior Jaclyn Switkes clinched her second-straight match with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Valerie Shklover at the No. 2 position.

The Orange and Blue go into Saturday morning midway through doubles with the Auburn Tigers. Illinois leads 4-3 on courts two and three. Play will resume at 8:30 am CT. 

Final Results

#5 Illinois 4, Yale 1

Doubles-Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*

1. Martinelli/Zordani (Yale) def.  Switkes/Duong (Illinois) 7-5
2. Shklover/Yang (Yale) def. Belaya/Pedraza-Novak (Illinois) 6-2
3. Kawai/Rabinowitz (Illinois) def. Gillinov/Amos (Yale) 6-2

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

1. Asuka Kawai (Illinois) vs. Samantha Martinelli (Yale) 5-7, 5-4, unf.
2. #79 Jaclyn Switkes (Illinois) def. Valerie Shklover (Yale) 7-5, 6-1  
3. Mia Rabinowitz (Illinois) vs. Amy Yang (Yale) 6-0, 4-6, unf.
4. Emilee Duong (Illinois) def. Elizabeth Zordani (Yale) 6-0, 6-0
5. Daniela Pedraza-Novak (Illinois) def. Caroline Amos (Yale) 6-0, 6-0
6. Sasha Belaya (Illinois) def. Sarah Cameron (Yale) 6-0, 6-3

Records: Illinois (8-1) | Yale (3-6)

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