CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – With the conclusion of the regular season, the Illinois women's tennis team shifts its 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.

Illinois earned the fifth seed and will take on No. 12 Iowa on Thursday (April 28) at 6 p.m. CT. The Hawkeyes defeated 13th seeded Michigan State, 4-3 on Thursday evening.

The Illini finished in a tie for third with Northwestern and Wisconsin with an 8-3 record in the Big Ten Conference, with seedings amongst the three teams determined by results against common opponents and Northwestern's head-to-head victory against Wisconsin.

Last Time Out
The Illinois women's tennis team split its final regular season weekend of the season, falling to No. 23 Michigan on Friday, 4-1, before bouncing back for a 4-1 win at Michigan State on Sunday.

The Illini won the doubles point in both matches as the No. 3 team of junior Emily Casati and freshman Kasia Treiber went 2-0 on the weekend, with Treiber also clinching the win against the Spartans with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win on court five.  

Illini vs. the Field
The Illini own a 32-26 advantage in the all-time series with the Hawkeyes and have won seven of their last eight matches, including a 4-2 win earlier this season on April 1 in the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.

Illini Notes

• The Illini wrapped the regular season with a 15-8 overall record and finished tied for third with an 8-3 mark in the Big Ten Conference.
• It is the fifth time in six seasons (excluding 2020 due to COVID-19) that the Illini have finished fourth or better in the conference standings.
• 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 263-227 (.537) in the Big Ten Conference.
• Entering the Big Ten Tournament, Illinois is ranked No. 48 in the most recent ITA Collegiate Tennis Division I Women's team rankings.
• 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 12 wins each.
• Junior Emily Casati and freshman Kasia Treiber own a 7-6 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 and Treiber each owning a 13-6 mark on the season. Duong joins the trio in double figures with an 11-8 mark at No. 1 singles.   
• Treiber paces UI with nine wins in league play and owns an 9-2 record, while Heuser and Yeah are right behind her at 8-2 and 7-2, respectfully.  
• All eight players have registered at least one singles win in 2022. 
• Duong was named the Big Ten Conference Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week on April 19 after helping lead Illinois to a come-from-behind Senior Day victory over Northwestern on April 17. 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.
• 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 96-66 (.593) and is 50-25 (.667) 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
Following the 2022 Big Ten Women's Tennis Tournament, the Illini next await their postseason fate until the NCAA Championships team selection show on Monday, May 2 at 5:30 p.m. CT on NCAA.com. Individual selections for the NCAA Championships will also be announced on Tuesday, May 3.

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