CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 34-ranked Illinois women's tennis (16-6) is headed to No. 21 Wisconsin (15-4) this weekend. Action will begin Friday at 4 p.m. CT, from Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Friday's contest at Wisconsin marks the ninth match against a ranked team this season, with the Illini sitting at 4-4 in those outings. Additionally, UW owns a 6-2 mark in Big Ten play.

With Sunday's match at Minnesota canceled and ruled a forfeit by the Gophers, Illinois now owns a 7-1 record in Big Ten matches. That marks the team's best start to league play since 2010.

The Illini have six individuals with 11 or more wins in singles play this season, including Ashley Yeah (16-9), Kasia Treiber (14-11), Megan Heuser (13-9), Josie Frazier (12-10), Kida Ferrari (11-7) and Kate Duong (11-10). Violeta Martinez has won five-straight singles decisions while Yeah has claimed her last four.

On the doubles courts, Heuser and Duong have won 14-consecutive matches. The duo is up to a 23-3 overall record on the season, which includes a 15-1 mark in dual play. In the latest ITA doubles rankings, Heuser and Duong climbed to No. 7, the best ranking for a tandem in Illini program history.

Last Time Out

Last weekend, Illinois picked up two Big Ten wins. On Friday, UI earned a dominant 5-0 victory at Rutgers. Then on Sunday, the Illini secured a come-from-behind 4-3 victory at No. 56 Maryland.

Illini vs. The Field

Illinois owns a 23-27 all-time record against Wisconsin. The most recent meeting came in last year's Big Ten Tournament, where the Illini fell to the No. 4-seeded Badgers, 4-1. 

Illini Notes

Head coach Evan Clark is in his eighth year as the head coach of Illinois women's tennis and holds an overall dual record of 112-73 (.605) and is 56-26 (.683) in Big Ten play during his time as an Illini.

The Illini are coming off a 16-9 season with an 8-3 Big Ten record in 2021-22.

Illinois returns seven of its eight players from last season, including seniors Emily Casati, Josie Frazier, and Ashley Yeah; junior Kate Duong; and sophomores Kida Ferrari, Megan Heuser, and Kasia Treiber. The Illini also welcomed freshman Violeta Martinez to the squad. 

Ranking Notes

Singles

• Illinois

  • No. 72 Ashley Yeah

• Wisconsin

  • No. 50 Ava Markham

  • No. 79 Maria Sholokhova 

  • No. 110 Xinyu Cai

Doubles

• Illinois

  • No. 7 Kate Duong/Megan Heuser

Up Next 

Illinois will close out the regular season matches at home next weekend against Nebraska on Saturday, April 22, at 11 a.m., and Iowa on Sunday, April 23, at 12 p.m.