NCAA First Round vs. Arizona State
URBANA, Ill. - The Illinois women's tennis team travels to Durham, N.C., for the NCAA First and Second Round, where the Orange and Blue will take on Arizona State on Saturday, May 4. Host team, Duke, as well as James Madison, join the Illini and ASU in the Durham Regional.
Illinois in the NCAA Tournament
- 2019 marks the 13th appearance for the Fighting Illini in the NCAA Championships.
- The Illini have a 4-12 record in NCAA Tournament play.
- Illinois has reached the Round of 32 three times in program history (2003, 2009, 2018).
Quick Glance at the NCAA First and Second Rounds
- Duke enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed. The Blue Devils are 23-3 overall this season with a 13-1 mark in ACC Conference play. Duke reached the ACC championship, where they fell to North Carolina, 4-2. Illinois is 1-6 all-time against the Blue Devils.
- Arizona State (13-10) will be making its 32nd-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Sun Devils boast the nation's top-ranked doubles tandem with John Baptise/Hattingh. Illinois is 0-2 all-time against ASU.
- The 2019 CAA Champions, James Madison, round out the Durham Regional. The Dukes have compiled a 14-8 record and currently hold a three-match win streak.
Illinois in the ITA Rankings
The Fighting Illini women's tennis team appears at No. 30 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.
Asuka Kawai sits at a career-best No. 43 in the singles rankings.
Sophomore Asuka Kawai has been named as a unanimous selection to the 2019 All-Big Ten Team, as announced earlier this week by the league office.
Playing at No. 1 singles all season, Kawai has put together a record of 15-9, including eight wins over nationally ranked singles opponents. Earlier this season, the Palatine, Ill., native became the first Illinois women's tennis athlete to win back-to-back Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors. The sophomore currently sits at a career-best No. 43 in the ITA Singles Rankings.
Earlier this week, Kawai also became just the fifth Illini women's tennis athlete to earn a berth at the NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championships, which will be held May 20-25 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
Strength of Schedule
The Illini have competed against 11 teams currently ranked in the top 30 in the country this season. Duke checks in at No. 5 in the most recent ITA Rankings, followed by Texas at No. 10, Kansas at No. 14, Michigan at No. 16, Texas A&M at No. 18, Virginia at No. 21, Wake Forest at No. 22, UCF at No. 23, Ohio State at No. 25, Texas Tech at No. 26 and Northwestern at No. 27.
Illinois' strength of schedule ranks 20th in the nation, according to slam.tennis.
Follow the Illini: FightingIllini.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
