URBANA, Ill. – The Illinois Fighting Illini women's tennis squad will travel to Madison, Wisc. to partake in the 2021 Big Ten Tournament beginning Thursday. The No. 7 seeded Illini (8-8) will faceoff against No. 10 Purdue (6-10) at 9:00 a.m. CT at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The winner of this match will advance to take on No. 2 Michigan on Friday at 9:00 a.m. CT. After beginning the year 1-5, the Illini have won seven of ten to close the regular season. 

Last Time Out

Last Sunday, Illinois completed an astonishing comeback win over No. 7 Northwestern on Senior day. Led by singles wins from senior Asuka Kawai and Emilee Duong, as well as sophomore Josie Frazier and freshman Kate Duong, the Illini earned their biggest victory of the season. Duong came through in the clutch, winning her match on court two in a third set with all eyes on her.

Scouting Purdue

Purdue enters the tournament with a 6-10 record (6-10 B1G) and is coming off a win over Indiana two weekends ago.

The Illini and the Boilermakers have faced off twice this season already, with Illinois being victorious each time. In early March, the Illini won 4-3 and three weeks ago the Orange and Blue grabbed a win in West Lafayette by a score of 4-1.

The last time these teams faced off in a Big Ten Tournament match was in 2013-14, resulting in a Purdue 4-2 victory.

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