No. 22 Illinois Places Fourth at Blue Gray Classic

Women's Tennis February 23, 2019

No. 22 Illinois Places Fourth at Blue Gray Classic

Box Scores: Alabama | Wake Forest | Texas Tech

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The 22nd-ranked Fighting Illini women's tennis team fell to both Wake Forest (5-2) and Texas Tech (4-2) on Saturday to finish fourth at the 71st annual Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. Illinois drops to 5-5 on the season and will begin conference play on Friday, March 1, at No. 10 Northwestern.

Match One vs. Wake Forest | L, 4-3

Wake Forest got out to a quick one-point lead on Friday evening with wins on courts one and three. The 45th-ranked pair of Carter and Davis took down No. 60 Belaya/Novak 6-0 before No. 47 Brylin/Ulyashchenko clinched it for the Demon Deacons, defeating Kawai/Rabinowitz 6-3.

The match was resumed Saturday morning with singles play and the Illini fought tough. After dropping the match on court three, senior Jaclyn Switkes and sophomore Mia Rabinowitz picked up wins to tie things up. Switkes took down No. 96 Anna Ulyashchenko, 6-4, 6-3, while Kawai earned a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over No. 40 Emma Davis on court one. Wake Forest responded, however, with a win on court six to clinch it.

Match Two vs. Texas Tech | L, 4-2

Illinois jumped out to a 1-0 lead over Texas Tech with doubles wins on courts one and three. Kawai/Rabinowitz defeated Sella/Peet, 6-3, and Switkes/Duong took down Bridgforth/Rush, 7-6(1), to give Illinois its sixth doubles point of the season.

Texas Tech tied things up in singles play, as Anto Stoica defeated Sasha Belaya, 6-2, 6-1 on court four. Asuka Kawai put Illinois back ahead, taking down No. 36 Felicity Maltby, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. The Red Raiders closed the match strong, picking up wins on courts three, five and six to clinch the 4-2 victory.

Final Results - Match One

Wake Forest 5, #22 Illinois 2

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

1. #45 Carter/Davis (Wake) def. #60 Belaya/Novak (Illinois) 6-0
2. Switkes/Duong (Illinois) def. Meredith/Omirou (Wake) 6-2
3. #47 Brylin/Ulyashchenko def. Kawai/Rabinowitz 6-3

Singles-Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1, 5, 6*, 4

1. Asuka Kawai (Illinois) def. #40 Emma Davis (Wake) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
2. Jaclyn Switkes (Illinois) def. #96 Anna Ulyashchenko (Wake) 6-4, 6-3
3. Eliza Omirou (Wake) def. Mia Rabinowitz (Illinois) 6-0, 6-1
4. Anna Brylin (Wake) def. Emilee Duong (Illinois) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
5. Sasha Belaya (Illinois) def. Chandler Carter (Wake) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
6. Peyton Pesavento (Wake) def. Daniela Pedraza Novak 7-6(2), 7-6(4)

Records: #22 Illinois (5-4) | Wake Forest (9-1)

Final Results - Match Two

Texas Tech 4, #22 Illinois 2

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

1. Switkes/Duong (Illinois) def. Bridgforth/Rush (TTU) 7-6(1)
2. Maltby/Miller (TTU) def. #60 Belaya/Novak (Illinois) 6-3
3. Kawai/Rabinowitz (Illinois) def. Sella/Peet (TTU) 6-3

Singles-Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 6, 5*

1. Asuka Kawai (Illinois) def. #36 Felicity Maltby (TTU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
2. Jaclyn Switkes (Illinois) vs. Francesca Sella (TTU) 6-4, 4-6, 3-2, unf.
3. Kennedy Bridgforth (TTU) def. Mia Rabinowitz (Illinois) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
4. Anto Stoica (TTU) def. Sasha Belaya (Illinois) 6-2, 6-1
5. Olivia Peet (TTU) def. Emilee Duong (Illinois) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
6. Lana Rush (TTU) def. Shivani Ingle (Illinois) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3

Records: #22 Illinois (5-5) | Wake Forest (8-4)