Illini Close Regular Season with Indiana Road Swing

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women's tennis team will close out the regular season this weekend as the squad visits Indiana on Friday and No. 60 Purdue on Sunday. Action from Bloomington is slated for 3 p.m. CT while first serve from West Lafayette is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT.

Illinois enters the weekend with an 11-11 record on the season and 6-5 mark in Big Ten action. The Fighting Illini have secured two three wins already this season, picking up victories at No. 60 Minnesota, No. 73 Michigan State, and No. 44 Northwestern.

Indiana enters Friday's match with an 8-13 overall record and 2-9 mark in Big Ten play. No. 60 Purdue enters the weekend with an 11-7 overall reading and 5-6 record in league action.

The Fighting Illini hold an 18-34 all-time record against Indiana entering Friday's match, but have claimed the last two decisions over the Hoosiers. Illinois is 39-31 all-time against Purdue, but have won the last 11 matches against the Boilermakers.

Illinois is coming off a road win at Northwestern, claiming a 4-1 decision vs. No. 44 Northwestern on Saturday. The Orange and Blue have now won the last six matchups over the Wildcats.

Ranking Notes

Team –

• No. 42 - Illinois
• No. 60 – Purdue

Doubles –

• No. 82 - Kida Ferrari/Megan Heuser (ILL)

Singles – 

• N/A

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
April 12 at Northwestern - 1: Heuser/Ferrari, 3: Schaefbauer/Treiber

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)
April 5 vs. Penn State - No. 5 singles, Ariel Madatali (6-2, 6-1)
April 12 at Northwestern - No. 6 singles, Kasia Treiber (7-6(0), 6-4)

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 143-98 (.593), and is 72-36 (.667) in Big Ten play during his time as an Illini. Including his time as the head coach at UNC-Wilmington, Clark owns a 174-109 record overall.
• Evan Clark is now the program's all-time winningest head coach at 143 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 72 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 winning both the Jan. 25, 2025 out-of-conference victory over Northwestern and the in-league dual in Evanston on April 12, Illinois has now won six consecutive matches over the Wildcats. 
• 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. The following weekend, the duo downed Northwestern's No. 72-ranked team.
• 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.