CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women's tennis team will conclude its 2022 regular season schedule this weekend with a road trip to the state of Michigan as the Illini take on No. 23 Michigan at 3 p.m. CT on Friday (April 22) in Ann Arbor, before the regular season finale at Michigan State in East Lansing, on Sunday (April 24) at 10 a.m. CT.

Heading into the weekend, the Illini sit in a tie for third place in the conference standings with Northwestern, with Ohio State leading the way at 9-0 and Michigan in second at 8-1. Illinois could clinch a share of the 2022 Big Ten Regular Season Championship by winning both of this weekend's matches and having Ohio State losing both of their matches. OSU faces off against Maryland on Friday and Rutgers on Sunday.

Last Time Out
For the second-straight season, Illinois put together a come-from-behind upset victory over Northwestern on Senior Day as the Illini celebrated senior Shivani Ingle in style with a 4-3 win against the Wildcats on Sunday (April 17) afternoon in Atkins Tennis Center.

It was an epic battle in doubles as the Wildcats won on court one, while the No. 3 doubles team of junior Emily Casati and freshman Kasia Treiber came all the way back from a 5-0 deficit to tie the score at 5-5, before eventually falling 7-5 to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage. The junior duo of Ashley Yeah and Josie Frazier were leading 6-5 when the point was clinched.

Northwestern made it 2-0 after a win on court six, before the Illini tied it up with back-to-back victories at No. 1 and 2 singles as sophomore Kate Duong took down No. 110 Clarissa Hand, 6-2, 7-5, and Yeah earned a 6-4, 7-5 win over Maria Shusharina.

After another UI setback on court three, Treiber and Megan Heuser came in clutch as Treiber knotted the score at 3-3 with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 win over Christina Hand. All eyes turned to court four as Heuser defeated Ema Lazic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to send the Illini to the 4-3 victory.  

Illini vs. the Field
The Illini trail in the all-time series with the Wolverines, 11-39, with Michigan having won 21-straight matches, including taking both matches a season ago with a 4-0 score.

The Illini lead in the series with the Spartans, 36-13, and have won five of the last six matches. The two teams split the season series in 2021, with the Illini winning in East Lansing, 4-2 on March 7, before MSU took a 4-3 win at Atkins on April 9.

Illini Notes

• Illinois is 14-7 on the season and 7-2 in the Big Ten.
• The Illini sit in a tie for third place in the conference standings with Northwestern heading into the final weekend, with Ohio State leading the way at 9-0 and Michigan in second at 8-1.
• Illinois could clinch a share of the 2022 Big Ten Regular Season Championship by winning both of this weekend's matches and having Ohio State losing both of their matches. OSU faces off against Maryland and Rutgers.
• Illinois finished its regular season home slate with an impressive 11-1, with their 11 wins ranking in a tie for the second-most wins in a home schedule in program history.
• Illinois owns an all-time record of 262-226 (.537) in the Big Ten Conference.
• Entering the weekend, Illinois is ranked No. 47 in the most recent ITA Collegiate Tennis Division I Women's team rankings, with the Wolverines sitting at No. 23 in the rankings.
• Sophomore Kate Duong was named the Big Ten Conference Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Tuesday after helping lead Illinois to a come-from-behind Senior Day victory over Northwestern on Sunday. It was the first weekly honor for Duong, who's 6-2, 7-5 straight-sets win over No. 110 Clarissa Hand at No. 1 singles was the catalyst for the Illini rally. It was also Duong's first victory over a ranked opponent this season.
• The No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams of Duong and freshman Megan Heuser and juniors Ashley Yeah and Josie Frazier, respectively, lead the Illini with 11 wins each.
• Junior Emily Casati and freshman Kasia Treiber own a 5-6 record at No. 3 doubles, with Casati has also teamed up with freshman Kida Ferrari for one win on court three. 
• Individually, Yeah leads the way with a 14-5 record on court two, with Heuser (12-6) and Treiber (12-5) each owning 12 wins on the season. Duong joins the trio in double figures with a 11-7 mark at No. 1 singles.   
• Treiber paces UI with eight wins in league play and owns an 8-1 record, while Yeah and Heuser are right behind her with a 7-2 mark.
• All eight players have registered at least one singles win in 2022. 
• Yeah brought home Big Ten Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors on March 22 after posting a 4-0 record in her matches, including two wins with doubles partner and classmate Josie Frazier at No. 2 doubles and a pair of singles wins on court two. It was the first career Athlete of the Week for Yeah and the first for the Illini since Mia Rabinowitz took home the honor on Feb. 18, 2020.
• Head coach Evan Clark is in his sixth year as the head of Illinois women's tennis and owns an overall record of 95-65 (.594) and is 49-24 (.671) 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 Shivani Ingle, juniors Casati, Frazier and Yeah and sophomore Duong.
• Illinois welcomes in three freshmen in 2022 with the addition of Heuser, Ferrari and Treiber.

Next Up
With the conclusion of the regular season, the Illini shift their focus to the 2022 Big Ten Women's Tennis Championships, held at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Center in Iowa City, Iowa on April 27-May 1.

For more Fighting Illini women's tennis news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniWTennis on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.