Illini Sweep Gophers, Advance to B1G Semifinals

Women's Tennis April 26, 2019

Illini Sweep Gophers, Advance to B1G Semifinals

LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 3 seed Illinois women's tennis team swept Minnesota, 4-0, on Friday at the Dillon Tennis Center to earn a spot in Saturday's semifinals. The Illini will take on the second-seeded Wisconsin Badgers tomorrow at 2 p.m. CT.

Illinois got off to a quick start, earning the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2. The pair of Sasha Belaya and Jaclyn Switkes finished first with a 6-2 win over Kreinis/Frei before Daniela Pedraza Novak and Emilee Duong secured the early advantage with a 6-4 victory over Merzbacher/Huber.

The Orange and Blue continued rolling on the singles courts, as all six Illini picked up first set victories. Pedraza Novak extended the Illinois lead with a quick 6-1, 6-3 win at court six and sophomore Asuka Kawai put the Illini on the brink with a 6-1, 6-3 straight-set win over Tina Kreinis on court one. The match was clinched at No. 3 singles, as Sasha Belaya claimed a 6-3, 6-4 win over Bita Mancera.

Notes

The Illini are now 21-23 in the Big Ten Tournament since the tournament format was changed to single elimination in 1996
Illinois improves to 31-18 all time against Minnesota and have won the last eight over the Gophers
The Orange and Blue are now 13-2 this season when winning at No. 6 singles

Final Results

Illinois 4, Minnesota 0

Doubles-Order of Finish: 2, 1*

1. Novak/Duong (Illinois) def. Merzbacher/Huber (MINN) 6-4
2. Switkes/Belaya (Illinois) def. Kreinis/Frei (MINN) 6-2
3. Kawai/Rabinowitz (Illinois) vs. Mancera/Hart (MINN) 4-5, unf.

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

1. #44 Asuka Kawai (Illinois) def. Tina Kreinis (MINN) 6-1, 6-3
2. Mia Rabinowitz (Illinois) vs. Tiffany Huber (MINN) 6-3, 2-6, unf.
3. Sasha Belaya (Illinois) def. Bita Mancera (MINN) 6-3, 6-4
4. Jaclyn Switkes (Illinois) vs. Cammy Frei (MINN) 6-2, 5-5, unf.
5. Emilee Duong (Illinois) vs. Caitlyn Merzbacher (MINN) 7-6(11), 0-1, unf.
6. Daniela Pedraza Novak (Illinois) def. Camila Vargas (MINN) 6-1, 6-3

Records: Illinois (15-10) | Minnesota (14-11)