URBANA, Ill. –  Illinois women's tennis head coach Evan Clark was named the 2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year and junior Jaclyn Switkes earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors, the league office announced on Thursday morning. Clark is just the second Big Ten Coach of the Year from Illinois and first since 1987.

Clark has led the Illini to a 21-5 overall record entering the 2018 NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament. Illinois's 21 wins this season match the second most in program history and the most for an Orange and Blue squad since 1982. UI will make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament field since 2012 and have defeated a program-best three Top-25 opponents. The Illini reached the program's highest ranking of No. 5 in February and have remained in the Top-20 for the past 10 weeks. 

Switkes claims her first All-Big Ten honor of her career. The Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, native is 18-9 in singles play and 19-11 in doubles action this season. Switkes has clinched six Illini victories, including Illinois's 4-3 victory over then-No. 22 Washington in a third-set tiebreaker. The Illini junior has also clinched 11 of UI's 21 doubles points during 2018. Following Illinois's Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, Switkes earned the first Big Ten Athlete of the Week honor and received her first ITA singles ranking at No. 79 of her career.

The Fighting Illini will travel to Lubbock, Texas for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Illinois will take on Princeton on Friday, May 11, at 10 am.   

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