Illini Visit #44 Northwestern on Saturday

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women's tennis team will visit No. 44 Northwestern on Saturday for a 12 p.m. CT match in Evanston. Illinois and the Wildcats met in an out-of-conference contest earlier this season that saw the Orange and Blue earn a 4-2 victory.

Illinois enters the weekend with a 10-11 record on the season and 5-5 mark in Big Ten action. The Fighting Illini have secured two road wins already this season, picking up victories at No. 60 Minnesota and No. 73 Michigan State.

Northwestern enters the weekend with an 11-11 overall record and 4-6 mark in Big Ten action. 

The Fighting Illini hold a 13-55 all-time record against Northwestern entering Saturday's match, but have claimed the last five decisions over the Wildcats. 

Illinois is coming off a split weekend in the Atkins Tennis Center, winning 4-0 vs. No. 43 Penn State on Saturday before falling 4-1 against No. 11 Ohio State. Illinois has faced eight top-25 teams this dual campaign.

Ranking Notes

Team –

• No. 44 - Northwestern
• No. 45 – Illinois

Doubles –

• No. 72 - Lau/Dagan Fruchtman (NW)
• No. 81 - Kida Ferrari/Megan Heuser (ILL)

Singles – 

• No. 112 - Sydney Pratt (NW) 
• No. 125 - Erica Jessel (NW)

DOUBLES POINTS

Jan. 18 at Notre Dame – 2: Schaefbauer/Treiber, 3: Xu/Madatali
Jan. 25 vs. Northwestern – 1: Heuser/Ferrari, 3: Martinez/Xu
Feb. 2 vs. Colorado – 1: Heuser/Ferrari, 2: Schaefbauer/Treiber
Feb. 14 vs. Iowa State – 2: Martinez/Xu, 3: Schaefbauer/Treiber
March 1 vs. Western Michigan – 1: Heuser/Ferrari, 2: Martinez/Xu
March 1 vs. Chicago State – 2: Schaefbauer/Treiber, 3: Madatali/Seccia
March 7 at Minnesota – 1: Heuser/Ferrari, 3: Schaefbauer/Treiber
March 14 vs. Iowa – 2: Martinez/Xu, 3: Schaefbauer/Treiber
March 16 vs. Nebraska – 1: Ferrari/Heuser, 2: Martinez/Xu
March 24 vs. Washington - 2: Martinez/Xu, 3: Schaefbauer/Treiber
March 30 at Michigan State - 1: Martinez/Xu, 2: Schaefbauer/Treiber
April 5 vs. Penn State - 2: Martinez/Xu, 3: Schaefbauer/Treiber
April 6 vs. Ohio State - 1: Heuser/Ferrari, 2: Martinez/Xu

CLINCHES

Jan. 25 vs. Northwestern – No. 4 singles, Ariel Madatali (2-6, 6-2, 6-2)
Feb. 2 vs. Colorado – No. 2 singles, Megan Heuser (6-7(7), 6-1, 6-3)
Feb. 14 vs. Iowa State – No. 1 singles, McKenna Schaefbauer (6-2, 6-2)
March 2 vs. Western Michigan – No. 3 singles, Violeta Martinez (7-5, 6-7(2), 1-0 (10-3)
March 2 vs. Chicago State – No. 4 singles, Ariel Madatali (6-0, 6-0)
March 7 at Minnesota – No. 2 singles, Megan Heuser (6-4, 6-1)
March 16 vs. Nebraska – No. 2 singles, Megan Heuser (6-4, 6-4)
March 22 vs. Oregon - No. 5 singles, Kida Ferrari (6-3, 7-5)
March 30 at Michigan State - No. 2 singles, Megan Heuser (6-3, 2-6, 6-4)
March 5 vs. Penn State - No. 5 singles, Ariel Madatali (6-2, 6-1)

ILLINI NOTES

• Head coach Evan Clark is in his 10th year as the head coach of Illinois women's tennis, holds an overall dual record of 142-98 (.592), and is 71-36 (.667) in Big Ten play during his time as an Illini. Including his time as the head coach at UNC-Wilmington, Clark owns a 173-109 record overall.
• Evan Clark is now the program's all-time winningest head coach at 142 victories in the midst of his 10th season at the helm. He passed Jennifer Roberts, who coached at Illinois for 11 seasons from 1988-98 (138 wins).
• Clark also owns 71 wins in Big Ten play, surpassing Roberts' Illinois record at 68.
• Illinois owns a 80-32 record when playing at home under Evan Clark (begins 2016 dual season).
• While hosting the 2025 ITA Team Indoor Championships, Illinois faced the nation's best, competing against No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Oklahoma State, and No. 6 UCLA. The following weekend, Illinois welcomed No. 22 Baylor to the Atkins Tennis Center, visited No. 17 Wisconsin, hosted No. 20 Washington, visited No. 3 Michigan, and most recently hosted No. 11 Ohio State for its eighth Top-25 match of the season.
• After the Jan. 25, 2025 out-of-conference victory over Northwestern, Illinois has now won five consecutive matches over the Wildcats. The squads will meet again for a Big Ten match on April 12 in Evanston.
• Fighting Illini freshman Ariel Madatali leads the team with 16 wins on the singles courts.
• Illinois' top doubles duo of Megan Heuser and Kida Ferrari earned a 6-4 upset win over Ohio State's No. 10-ranked tandem on April 6. The following week, the Illini senior pair was ranked No. 81 in the ITA doubles rankings.
• Violeta Martinez earned ranked wins on both the doubles and singles courts in Illinois' loss to No. 6 UCLA. On the doubles courts, Martinez and Alice Xu teamed up to take down UCLA's No. 30 ranked duo. Martinez would get the Fighting Illini on the board with a straight-set upset (6-4, 6-4) of UCLA's No. 53 Elisa Wagle.
• McKenna Schaefbauer earned her first clinch of the season in Illinois' 4-0 sweep of Iowa State, taking down No. 70 Anna Kuearum, 6-2, 6-2.
• Ariel Madatali's first-career clinch was also the first dual win of her career, which came in Illinois' 4-2 win over Northwestern.
• Megan Heuser owns a team-best four clinches this season.
• During the preseason, junior McKenna Schaefbauer was selected to the Big Ten Women's Tennis Players to Watch List. Schaefbauer is coming off of a successful sophomore campaign that featured a 17-10 overall singles record and 18-16 overall on the doubles courts. The transfer appeared at all six singles slots and all three doubles courts for the Illini in 2024.
• The Illini are coming off a 17-10 season with an 8-3 Big Ten record in 2023-24. The Illini's 17 wins were the third-most under Coach Clark and tied for the 10th-most in a season in program history. Three of those top-10 marks have come under Clark. UI earned its 15th appearance to the NCAA Team Tournament in program history.
• Illinois has made the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the second time under Clark and seventh time in program history. Last season's appearance marked the fourth with Clark at the helm.