Madatali Wins Fifth Straight, Illinois Falls at No. 17 Wisconsin

Sunday, March 9

Madison, Wis.

12 PM CT

University of Illinois

Wisconsin

Madatali Wins Fifth Straight, Illinois Falls at No. 17 Wisconsin

March 9, 2025 | Women's Tennis

Box Score

Recap

MADISON, Wis. – Illinois' three-match win streak came to an end on Sunday as Fighting Illini women's tennis dropped a 4-1 decision at No. 17-ranked Wisconsin. The Orange and Blue are now 0-5 on the season against top-25 opponents

Illinois moves to 6-7 on the season and 1-1 in Big Ten play. No. 17 Wisconsin improves to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten action.

Wisconsin claimed the opening point of the match after winning decisions at doubles No. 1 and 2. The Fighting Illini tandem of McKenna Schaefbauer and Kasia Treiber earned a 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles and were the first off the courts. That duo claimed both of their matches this weekend, have won five-straight decisions, and are up to an 8-4 record in dual play.

On the singles courts, the Orange and Blue claimed the opening set on courts 3-6. Wisconsin would win in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 2 while Madatali earned a straight set decision at No. 4. The remaining three singles matches would go to three sets.

Wisconsin pushed its lead to a 2-0 advantage with a win at No. 2 singles before Illinois' Ariel Madatali earned a 6-3, 6-0 decision at No. 4 singles. The Illinois freshman has won five-straight decisions and is up to a 6-2 record in dual play this season as she got Illinois on the board at Wisconsin.

UW claimed the tally at No. 1 singles as No. 5-ranked Sholokhova downed Schaefbauer in a 6-2, 6-4 decision for a 3-1 lead in the match. The Badgers would be the next on the board, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 6 singles to secure the match.

Violeta Martinez (No. 3) and Treiber (No. 5) would go unfinished on the singles courts, both in their third sets.

FINAL SCORE: NO. 45 ILLINOIS (6-7; 1-1 B1G) 1, #17 WISCONSIN (10-1, 3-0 B1G) 4

Doubles
No. 1 – Sholokhova/Johnson (WIS) def. Megan Heuser/Kida Ferrari - 6-1
No. 2 – No. 62 Cataldi/Reynoldson (WIS) def. Alice Xu/Violeta Martinez - 7-5
No. 3 – McKenna Schaefbauer/Kasia Treiber def. Mahova/Christensen (WIS) - 6-2

Singles
No. 1 – No. 5 Maria Sholokhova (WIS) def. McKenna Schaefbauer - 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 – No. 109 Taylor Cataldi (WIS) def. Megan Heuser - 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 – No. 114 Violeta Martinez vs. Ekaterina Ivanova (WIS) - 6-4, 4-6, 3-3, unfinished
No. 4 – Ariel Madatali def. Ellison Reynoldson (WIS) - 6-3, 6-0
No. 5 – Kasia Treiber vs. Ariel Johnson (WIS) - 6-3, 3-6, 5-4, unfinished
No. 6 – Kaja Jacobson (WIS) def. Alice Xu - 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Order of Finish
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 2, 4, 1, 6,
Duration: 3:02
Played indoors

NEXT UP

Next weekend, Fighting Illini women's tennis returns home to host its first Big Ten matches of the season. Iowa visits on Friday for a 5 p.m. CT contest while Nebraska comes to town on Sunday for a 12 p.m. match.