CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fall action is set to begin for the Fighting Illini as the squad looks to divide and conquer with the H-E-B Invite and ITA All-American Championships on deck. Half of the team (Kida Ferrari, Ariel Madatali, Violeta Martinez, and Rosie Seccia) will head to Waco, Texas, for the H-E-B Invite from Friday, Sept. 20, through Sunday, Sept. 22. ITA All-American Championships will run from Saturday, Sept. 21, through Sunday, Sept. 29, for Megan Heuser, McKenna Schaefbauer, Kasia Treiber, and Alice Xu.
Action from the ITA All-American Championships will kick off with Pre-Qualifying Singles on Sept. 21, with Heuser, Schaefbauer, and Treiber slated to compete. Schaefbauer and Treiber will also take the courts for Pre-Qualifying Doubles beginning on Sept. 21. Heuser and Xu will start Main Draw Doubles action on Sept. 25. Associate head coach Jacob Eddins will make the trip east to the ITA All-American Championships, while head coach Evan Clark takes Ferrari, Madatali, Martinez, and Seccia to the H-E-B Invite.
Both events will mark the first collegiate competition of the fall for Illinois women's tennis.
Illinois newcomer Ariel Madatali is expected to make her collegiate debut in Waco, Texas.
H-E-B INVITE
The H-E-B Invitational, hosted at Baylor, opens Friday at 9 a.m. Friday morning with the first round of doubles and concludes on Sunday morning with two rounds of singles.
Live results for the tournament will be provided online (Hurd / Hawkins), with draws that will be updated in real-time at the conclusion of each match. Live video is available through Playsight for the Hurd Grandstand and Hawkins Indoor courts. Matches labeled Riverside will not have video.
In the chance of inclement weather, competition will be moved inside to the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. Baylor, Denver, Illinois, Lamar, Missouri, Nebraska, SMU, and Tennessee will all be represented in Waco. Nebraska, Rice, UTSA, Colorado, Texas A&M, Houston, Illinois, Arizona, SMU, and Baylor will be represented at the H-E-B Invite.
Tournament Schedule:
- Friday -
- Doubles: 9 AM, 10:30 AM
- Singles: 12:30 PM, 2 PM
- Saturday -
- Doubles: 10 AM
- Singles: 12 PM, 1:30 PM
- Sunday -
ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Over in Cary, N.C., at the ITA All-American Championships, singles play will use best-two-out-of-three sets with no-ad scoring. Main-draw doubles action will utilize two sets with a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a third set with no-ad scoring.
Heuser and Xu enter the doubles competition ranked as the No. 9 doubles team in the nation.
SCHEDULE & DRAW SIZES
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Pre-Qualifying
Saturday, Sept. 21 – Singles R128, Doubles R32
Sunday, Sept. 22 – Singles R64, Singles Cons. R64, Singles R32, Doubles R16, Doubles Cons. R16
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Qualifying
Monday, Sept. 23 – Singles R64, Doubles R32
Tuesday, Sept. 24 – Singles R32, Singles Cons. R32, Doubles R16, Doubles Cons. R16
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Main Draw
Wednesday, Sept. 25 – Singles R64, Doubles R32
Thursday, Sept. 26 – Singes R32, Singles Cons. R32a, Doubles R16, Doubles Cons. R16
Friday, Sept. 27 – Singles R16, Singles QF, Singles Cons. R32b, Singles Cons. R16a, Doubles QF, Doubles Cons. QF
Saturday, Sept. 28 – Singles Semifinals, Singles Cons. R16b, Singles Cons. QF, Doubles Semifinals, Doubles Cons. Semifinals
Sunday, Sept. 29 – Singles Final, Singles Cons Semifinals, Doubles Final, Doubles Cons. Final
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING INFORMATION
The 2024 ITA Women's All-American Championships will have a draw size of the following, Singles: Pre-Qualifying (128), Qualifying (64), Main Draw (64); and Doubles: Pre-Qualifying (32), Qualifying (32), Main Draw (32). From this, ten singles players (10) will qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship (eight main draw quarterfinalists & two feed-in consolation finalists). Meanwhile, four doubles teams (4) will qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship through the All-American Championships (four main draw semifinalists).
