The Illini women’s tennis team will get its first taste of dual action this weekend when they host the sixth annual Midwest Blast at Atkins Tennis Center.

Although scores are not kept between the teams because NCAA rules prohibit team dual matches from being contested in the fall season, matches are played in the same format as the dual season.

Rice, South Florida and South Alabama are also set to compete in the tournament. Each team will play six singles and three doubles matches against all three opponents.

Illinois head coach Sujay Lama said he is looking for the Illini to have their best tournament of the season this weekend.

“This is the last time we get to play this fall,” Lama said. “We’ve shown steady improvements over the season and played our best in the Regionals and now we want to finish it off with a bang.”

Headlining the Midwest Blast are Illini junior Cynthya Goulet, who is the 110th-ranked singles player in the country, No. 58 Blair Disesa of Rice and No. 97 Gabriela Duch of South Florida.

Illinois has the lone ranked doubles pair in the tournament, No. 44 Goulet and sophomore Emily Wang.

The format is designed to simulate what it will be like in the spring season for the teams in the tournament.

“The fact that it’s a mock dual match makes it like what you would call a dress rehearsal for the season,” said senior Leila Cehajic. “It is especially important for the freshmen, because they will get to see for the first time what it is like to be playing next to your teammates all at the same time, like in the season. It is also fun for the upperclassmen because they have the experience to help the freshman.”

Lama said the tournament is a good opportunity to experiment with the team’s lineup for the upcoming spring season.

“We have two very good doubles teams,” Lama said. “We are looking at the No. 3 doubles spot, we know that (freshman) Momei (Qu) will be playing in that spot, we’ll be looking at who can compliment her there. In singles, Cynthya will play at No. 1, but No. 2-6, we don’t know yet. So we want to see different kids in different spots, and so far it is wide open and competitive for those spots.”

Entering the tournament, the Illini are healthier than they have been all season. Freshman Anastasia Sokolova is expected to play this weekend, along with Cehajic, who is expected to play for the first time this season.

“It’s definitely been unfortunate that I haven’t been able to play any this fall,” Cehajic said. “I couldn’t be happier to be coming back for this tournament, though. It’s the best time to come back, because I will get to play beside my teammates because of the mock dual format.”

Despite returning Cehajic and Sokolova, freshman Elizabeth Dolen will be lost for the season. Dolen will redshirt and receive surgery for a torn ACL next week.

“It’s tough for her,” Lama said. “It is the right decision though – it will help her get strong. When she gets back she can work on more of the tactical and technical things in her game. It is best to take care of this situation now, than have it come up later.”