CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women's tennis team is set to open Big Ten conference action with a four-match homestand beginning this weekend as the Illini welcome in Minnesota on Friday (March 18) afternoon at 4 p.m. CT, before taking on Wisconsin on Sunday (March 20) at noon for Women's in Sports Day. Both matches will be held at Atkins Tennis Center.

Last Time Out
The Illinois women's tennis team dropped a pair of 4-0 road setbacks against Kansas on March 4 and No. 3 Oklahoma on March 6.

Illini vs. the Field
The Illini own a 33-19 record against Minnesota and have won 10-straight against the Gophers dating back to the 1999-20 season. The Illini have also won 10-straight at home against UM and swept the season series with the Gophers a season with a pair of 4-3 victories at home on February 21 and on the road on March 28.

Illinois trails in the all-time series with Wisconsin, 23-26, including falling in both matches a season ago by a score of 4-3 at home on February 26 and in Madison on March 26. Before the 2021 season, the Illini had won eight-straight matches against the Badgers.

Illini Notes

• Illinois is 7-5 on the season and owns a 6-0 record at home in Atkins Tennis Center in 2022.
• Illinois own an all-time record of 255-224 (.534) in the Big Ten Conference, with their last win in a conference opener coming in a 4-1 win over Purdue on March 8, 2020 – in what would turn out to be the last match of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• Entering the weekend, Illinois is ranked No. 68 in the most recent ITA Collegiate Tennis Division I Women's team rankings, with Minnesota coming in ranked No. 42 and Wisconsin sitting at No. 51.
• The Illini have a pair of doubles teams with six wins on the season with sophomore Kate Duong and freshman Megan Heuser at No. 1 doubles and the junior duo of Josie Frazier and Ashley Yeah at No. 2 doubles.
• Individually, Yeah leads the way with a 7-3 record on the season, with Duong and freshmen Kida Ferrari and Megan Heuser each owning five wins on the season, while senior Shivani Ingle is 4-0 at No. 6 singles.
• All eight players have registered at least one singles win in 2022. 
• Head coach Evan Clark is in his sixth year as the head of Illinois women's tennis and owns an overall record of 88-63 (.583) and is 42-22 (.673) in the Big Ten Conference.
• The Illini are coming off a 9-9 Big Ten Conference-only season in 2021.
• The Illini return five players from last season, including senior Ingle, juniors Emily Casati, Frazier and Yeah and sophomore Duong.
• Illinois welcomes in three freshmen in 2022 with the addition of Heuser, Ferrari and Treiber.

Next Up
Illinois continues its four-match homestand as the Illini host Maryland at 4 p.m. CT on Friday (March 25) and Rutgers on Sunday (March 27) at 11 a.m. CT.

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