Match 22-24: Illinois vs. Penn State, UNI, Ohio State

URBANA, Ill. - The Illinois women's tennis team wraps up its regular season with three matches at home, as the Illini welcome Penn State, Northern Iowa and No. 18 Ohio State to Atkins Tennis Center. Sunday's match marks Senior Day, as Illini veterans Jaclyn Switkes and Daniela Pedraza Novak will be honored prior to match play. 

Match Notes

• The Illini hold a 25-3 advantage over Penn State in the all-time series and have won the last three over the Nittany Lions. 
• The Orange and Blue are 34-19 all-time against Ohio State.
• Illinois and UNI have faced off just once in program history, with the Illini winning that matchup (7-2) back on Oct. 4, 1981.
• The Illini are a perfect 10-0 this season when winning at No. 5 singles.

Strength of Schedule

The Illini have competed against 10 teams currently ranked in the top 35 in the country this season. Duke checks in at No. 3 in the most recent ITA rankings, followed by Texas at No. 7, Michigan at No. 16, Texas A&M at No. 19, Kansas at No. 20, Wake Forest at No. 22, Virginia at No. 23, UCF at No. 25, Texas Tech at No. 26 and Northwestern at No. 31.

Illinois' strength of schedule ranks 12th 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.

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 Awards

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.

Illinois in the ITA Rankings

The Fighting Illini women's tennis team appears at No. 32 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. 48 in the singles rankings. 

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