Illini Host #42 Penn State and #11 Ohio State for Senior Weekend

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women's tennis team returns home to host No. 42 Penn State and No. 11 Ohio State for Senior Weekend at the Atkins Tennis Center this Saturday and Sunday. The Fighting Illini will honor seniors Kasia Treiber, Kida Ferrari, and Megan Heuser. Action against the Nittany Lions is slated for Saturday at 12 p.m. CT, followed by a 12 p.m. match vs. the top-25 ranked Buckeyes on Sunday.

Illinois enters the weekend with a 9-10 record on the season and 4-4 in Big Ten action. The Illini own a 7-7 record when competing in the Atkins Tennis Center this season. Sunday's match vs. Ohio State will mark the Orange and Blue's eighth tilt of the season vs. a top-25 ranked team.

Penn State enters the weekend with a 13-5 overall record and 4-4 mark in Big Ten action. Ohio State will open its Land of Lincoln roadtrip at Northwestern on Friday. OSU owns a 13-2 record entering the weekend, including a 7-1 reading in league play.

The Fighting Illini hold a 28-4 all-time record against Penn State entering Saturday's match. The last time the Illini faced the Nittany Lions was last season, when Illinois earned a 4-1 victory. Against Ohio State, the Illini are 35-21 in the all-time series. In their most recent meeting last April, the Buckeyes claimed the decision, 4-2.

Illinois is coming off a split weekend in Michigan, falling 4-0 at No. 3 Michigan before earning a 4-0 sweep at No. 73 Michigan State.

The senior recognition ceremony will take place ahead of Sunday's match.

Ranking Notes

Team –

No. 11 – Ohio State
No. 51 – Illinois
No. 42 - Penn State

Doubles –

No. 10 - Perry/Chavez (Ohio State)

Singles –

No. 9 - Luciana Perry (Ohio State)
No. 37 - Teah Chavez (Ohio State)
No. 85 - Sydni Ratliff (Ohio State)
No. 102 - Audrey Spencer (Ohio State)
No. 119 - Shelly Bereznyak (Ohio State)

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

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)

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 141-97 (.592), and is 70-35 (.667) in Big Ten play during his time as an Illini. Including his time as the head coach at UNC-Wilmington, Clark owns a 172-108 record overall.
Evan Clark is now the program's all-time winningest head coach at 141 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 70 wins in Big Ten play, surpassing Roberts' Illinois record at 68.
Illinois owns a 79-31 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, and most recently visited No. 3 Michigan for its seventh 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 15 wins on the singles courts.
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.

Schedule