CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Next up, Illinois continues its homestand as Brown and Marshall come to town Feb. 17 and 18, respectively. Action from the Atkins Tennis Center is slated for 12 p.m. CT against the Bears on Saturday and 11 a.m. vs. the Thundering Herd on Sunday. Admission to home regular season matches is free. Saturday's match will feature a National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) promotion.
Brown is off to a 4-3 start on the dual season, suffering losses in the squad's last two outings.
Marshall enters its weekend tour of Illinois with a record of 8-2. The Herd visits Northwestern on Friday, Illinois State on Saturday, and the Fighting Illini on Sunday.
Saturday's match will mark the 200th with head coach Evan Clark at the helm for the Fighting Illini.
LAST TIME OUT
Through four weekends of action, Illinois sits at 5-2 on the season with a 4-0 win over Ole Miss last time out. The weekend prior, the Orange and Blue upset No. 23 UCF marking Illinois' first win over a top-25 ranked opponent since an upset at No. 21 Wisconsin on April 14, 2023.
Illinois sits at 1-2 against top-25 ranked opponents, falling to No. 15 Duke and No. 19 Cal.
ILLINI VS. THE FIELD
Saturday's meeting marks the first against Brown in program history.
After downing the Thundering Herd, 4-2, last season, Illinois leads Marshall in the all-time series 1-0.
ILLINI NOTES
Head coach Evan Clark is in his ninth year as the head coach of Illinois women's tennis and holds an overall dual record of 120-79 (.603) and is 58-28 (.674) in Big Ten play during his time as an Illini. Including his time as the head coach at UNC-Wilmington, Clark owns a 151-90 record overall.
The Illini are coming off an 18-10 season with an 8-3 Big Ten record in 2022-23. The Illini's 18 wins tied the sixth-most in a single season in program history. UI earned the 14th appearance to the NCAA Team Tournament in program history. The last time Illinois made the NCAA Tournament as a team was the 2019 campaign. The 2023 appearance marked the third with Clark at the helm.
Illinois returns six of its eight players from last season, including fifth-year senior Josie Frazier and senior Kate Duong. Additionally, Megan Heuser, Kasia Treiber, and Kida Ferrari return for their junior campaigns and Violeta Martinez begins her sophomore dual season. The Illini welcomed South Carolina-transfer, but Illinois native, McKenna Schaefbauer along with freshmen Rosie Seccia and Alice Xu.
CLINCHES
Jan. 14 vs. Missouri - Violeta Martinez (No. 4 singles)
Jan. 14 vs. EIU - Violeta Martinez (No. 2 singles)
Jan. 19 vs. Charlotte - Megan Heuser (No. 1 singles)
Jan. 28 vs. No. 23 UCF - Kasia Treiber (No. 3 singles)
Feb. 11 vs. Ole Miss - Kasia Treiber (No. 3 singles)
RANKING NOTES
Team
Doubles
Singles
- No. 34 - Phoebe Peus/Lindsey Hofflander (Brown)
NEXT UP
Illinois hits the road again with the Blue Gray Tennis Classic on the schedule for Feb. 23-24 from Montgomery, Ala.
