URBANA, Ill.  – In its first outdoor home match of the season, the Illinois women's tennis team opened Big Ten play with a 4-1 win over Maryland on Friday. The Orange and Blue have now won 11 consecutive meetings over the Terrapins.
"I'm so proud of our squad today and how they managed several difficult dynamics surrounding this match," began head coach Evan Clark. "We had several people step up today, and our depth showed itself again today.
"Maryland is a really tough team and we have a lot of respect for them, so for us to navigate our way through this match gives us a lot of confidence moving forward."
No. 46 Illinois moves to 9-5 on the season with the victory and 1-0 in league action. The Orange and Blue are now 6-1 in home matches this season. No. 49 Maryland moves to 9-5 on the season and 0-1 in Big Ten play.
Illinois clinched its eighth doubles point of the season on Friday from the Atkins Tennis Center.
McKenna Schaefbauer and Kasia Treiber teamed up at No. 3 doubles and were the first tandem done after securing a 6-2 win. The match was the first time the duo has teamed up.
No. 35 Megan Heuser and Alice Xu climbed to 9-1 when working together this season with a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles on Friday to clinch the opening point of the match for Illinois. The Illini tandem trailed 2-1 before winning three straight games to take the lead.
Xu appeared in singles action for the third time in a dual match this season and climbed to 2-0 in dual play. The freshman was the first off the singles courts following her 6-1, 6-1 straight-set win at No. 6.
Maryland got on the board next, taking the decision at No. 3 singles 6-1, 6-2.
Ferrari battled to a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles to give Illinois a 3-1 lead over the Terps. Ferrari is up to a 7-2 record on the dual campaign.
Moments later, Heuser clinched her second match of the season for the Fighting Illini. After going down 2-0 early in the opening frame, she battled back to lead, 3-2, and after taking a 4-3 advantage, she would not trail again. After winning the first game of the second set, Heuser allowed her Maryland counterpart just one game in the frame, ultimately winning 6-4, 6-1 on the top court. The junior is up to a 6-3 dual record this season, all at No. 1 singles.
Illinois will host No. 75 Rutgers on Sunday from the Atkins Tennis Center at 12 p.m. CT. The Orange and Blue are 8-0 all-time against the Scarlet Knights, who entered the weekend with an 8-3 record.
FULL RESULTS: No. 46Â ILLINOISÂ 4, No. 49 MARYLAND 1
Doubles:
No. 1 – No. 35 Megan Heuser/Alice Xu def. Miranda/Budin (Maryland) – 6-3
No. 2 – Kida Ferrari/Josie Frazier vs. Cadar/Liu (Maryland) – 5-3, unfinished
No. 3 – McKenna Schaefbauer/Kasia Treiber def. Feodorov/Challa (Maryland) – 6-2
Singles:
No. 1 – Megan Heuser def. Minorka Miranda (Maryland) – 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 – McKenna Schaefbauer vs. No. 77 Selma Cadar (Maryland) – 4-6, 3-4, unfinished
No. 3 – Kallista Liu (Maryland) def. Kasia Treiber – 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 – Josie Frazier vs. Maria Budin (Maryland) – 2-6, 3-4, unfinished
No. 5 – Kida Ferrari def. Diya Challa (Maryland) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 – Alice Xu def. Francesca Feordorov (Maryland) – 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 3, 1
Singles: 6, 3, 5, 1
Duration: 2:13
Attendance: 101
Played outdoors.
