Match 20 and 21: Illinois at Wisconsin & Minnesota
URBANA, Ill. - After a pair of matches at home last weekend, the Illinois women's tennis team hits the road for matchups at both Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Illini take on the Badgers on Friday, April 12, before heading west for a Sunday showdown against the Gophers on April 14.
Match Notes
- The Illini trail 21-23 in the all-time series against Wisconsin, but have won the last six matchups, including a 4-0 win a year ago at Atkins Tennis Center.
- Illinois carries a six-match win streak over the Gophers and leads the all-time series 29-18.
- The Orange and Blue are a perfect 8-0 this season when winning at No. 5 singles.
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 40 dating back to Feb. 14, 2018.
Sophomore Asuka Kawai sits at No. 47 in the singles rankings.
Strength of Schedule
The Illini have competed against 10 teams currently ranked in the top 30 in the country during the first few months of the season. Duke checks in at No. 4 in the most recent ITA rankings, Texas at No. 6, Michigan at No. 14, Texas A&M, Virginia at No. 19, Kansas at No. 20, Wake Forest at No. 22, UCF at No. 23, Texas Tech at No. 27 and Northwestern at No. 29.
Illinois' strength of schedule ranks 13th in the nation, according to slam.tennis.
Home Sweet Home
The Fighting Illini 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.
After splitting its matchups at home last weekend, the Illini sit at 6-1 at home on the season and have won 19 of their last 20 matches at Atkins Tennis Center over the past two seasons.
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 ever 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, 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, 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.
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