URBANA, Ill. – Playing outside at home for the first time this season, the Illinois women's tennis team suffered a 5-2 setback to Wisconsin on a sun-filled Sunday (March 20) at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.
The Illini move to 8-6 on the season and 1-1 in the Big Ten.
It was a tight battle in doubles action as the junior duo of Ashley Yeah and Josie Frazier dominated on court two with a 6-1 win, before sophomore Kate Duong and freshman Megan Heuser fell to #43 Alina Mukhortova and Xinyu Cai, 3-6, to tie things up. It all came down to court three as the Badgers (10-6, 1-1 B1G) broke a 4-4 tie to take the final two games to win the doubles point with a 6-4 decision over junior Emily Casati and freshman Kasia Treiber.
Wisconsin took back-to-back singles matches on courts six and four to push its lead to 3-0, but the Illini answered back as Yeah earned a 6-0, 7-6 (1) win over #111 Xinyu Cai on court two and Duong added a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Ava Markham on court one to cut the deficit to one at 3-2.
The Badgers then secured the win as Frazier dropped a 6-3, 2-6, 0-6 decision to Alina Mukhortova on court three and Treiber fell in three sets on court five.
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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