Match 15: Illinois at UCF

URBANA, Ill. - The Fighting Illini women's tennis team wraps up an eight-match road trip on Sunday, as the team travels to Lake Nona, Fla., for a matchup with UCF. Sunday's meeting marks the first-ever matchup between the two programs.

Match Notes 

• Central Florida has won 13-straight matches heading into their Friday matchup against Tulsa. The Knights have not lost since January 26 (vs. Northwestern).
• UCF checks in at No. 26 in the ITA Rankings and will mark Illinois' ninth opponent currently ranked in the top 30 in the country. 
• Sunday's match will conclude the Illini's month-long road trip, which has included eight matches in five different states.  

Strength of Schedule

The Illini have competed against eight teams ranked in the top 30 in the country during the first few monrhs of the season. Duke checks in at No. 3 in the most recent ITA rankings, followed by Texas A&M at No. 11, Kansas at No. 16, Wake Forest at No. 17, Texas at No. 18, Northwestern at No. 20, Virginia at No. 22 and Texas Tech at No. 27. 

Illinois' strength of schedule currently ranks fifth in the nation, according to slam.tennis. 

Illinois in the ITA Rankings

The Fighting Illini women's tennis team appears at No. 34 in the most recent ITA Tennis rankings. After beginning the season ranked No. 21 in the preseason rankings, and eventually moving up to No. 18, the Illini had three tough losses against top-20 teams to knock them out of the top 25. Prior to the Blue Gray Classic, Illinois sat at No. 22. The Illini have been in the top 35 dating back to Feb. 14, 2018. 

Sophomore Asuka Kawai sits at a career-best No. 54 singles ranking. 

Kawai Earns Back-to-Back B1G Weekly Honors

Asuka Kawai has had a stellar start to the season, as the sophomore became the first Illini women's tennis athlete to earn the honor in back-to-back weeks in late February-early March. 

Playing at No. 1 singles throughout the annual Blue Gray Tennis Classic past weekend, Kawai picked up wins over two ITA-ranked opponents, including No. 40 Emma Davis from Wake Forest (6-3, 3-6, 6-2) and No. 36 Felicity Maltby from Texas Tech (6-4, 3-6, 6-1). Kawai also paired up with fellow-sophomore Mia Rabinowitz to earn doubles victories over both Alabama's Selim/Gintrand (6-2) and Texas Tech's Sella/Peet (6-3).

Kawai continued her stellar play at No. 13 Northwestern on Friday, as the Palatine, Ill., native defeated No. 30 Clarissa Hand, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, to mark her third-straight singles victory over a top-40 ITA ranked opponent. Paired with Rabinowitz, Kawai also added a doubles victory, as the two took down NU's Pozo/Doshi, 6-2.

Home Sweet Home

The Fighting Illini women's tennis team turned in a perfect 4-0 homestand in early February, which featured wins over Notre Dame (4-3), Oregon (4-3), Texas A&M (4-3) and Baylor (6-1). Illinois was led by sophomore Mia Rabinowitz, who went undefeated in both singles and doubles play. 

Fellow-sophomore Sasha Belaya also went 3-1 in singles play, highlighted by a 6-0, 6-0 sweep over Oregon's Taryn Fujimori.

Follow the Illini:
FightingIllini.com | Facebook  | Twitter | Instagram