Women’s tennis has shown its potential all fall and this weekend the Illini did more of the same in the Midwest Blast at the Atkins Tennis Center.

One freshman who exhibited that potential was Macall Harkins, who pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend Sunday, defeating the highest ranked player of the tournament No. 58 Blair DiSesa of Riceÿ6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

“Macall had to move up to the No. 1 spot for (junior) Cynthya Goulet, who was sick,” said assistant coach JoAnne Russell. “Macall stepped up and beat a very good player. I was impressed with (DiSesa), she could really change it up.”

Harkins’ success will help solidify the singles lineup for the spring, as she is expected to compete at the No. 2 spot for the Illini.

“When we lost Jenny McGaffigan and Tiffaney Eklov, I thought we might have trouble at the top of our lineup this year,” said head coach Sujay Lama. “But Cynthya and Macall really stepped up this fall.”

Harkins and junior Brianna Knue went undefeated in their three doubles matches, including Sunday’s victory when they filled in at the No. 1 spot for Goulet and sophomore Emily Wang.

The Illini’s top doubles team of Goulet and Wang, who are ranked No. 110 in the country, won both their matches this weekend.

The success of Illinois’ newfound doubles team gives the Illini a powerful weapon heading into the spring season.

“We’ve established ourselves at the No. 1 and No. 2 spot in doubles,” Russell said. “We’re working on our No. 3 spot, but to have solid teams at No. 1 and No. 2 that are interchangeable gives us a great advantage.”

The Illini are still unsure about their singles lineup.

“Cynthya is our No. 1 and Macall is our No. 2, after that it is anybody’s guess,” Russell said. “There is a long time in the spring before our first match and our No. 3, 4 and 5 spots are open. It will be the players who work the hardest in the next two and a half months that get rewarded with those spots.”

In the tournament teams played each other in a dual format, without keeping score, which allowed teams a chance to get a taste of what it will be like in the spring season.

“They really had no clue what it was going to be like in the spring,” Russell said. “I think they liked it though. It’s important to understand that whether you are the No. 1 or No. 6, that your match counts just as much, so its not so much of a question of ‘Where am I playing at in the lineup,’ as much as ‘Am I playing in the lineup?'”

If scores were kept this weekend, the Illini would have finished 1-2, with defeats coming to South Alabama and Rice.

“We need to work on our fitness,” Russell said. “We also have to improve upon our doubles a little bit and some of our singles players… We also need to work on our consistency in singles, for instance, (freshman) Anastasia Sokolova won her first three matches, then dropped her next six.”

With the Midwest Blast wrapping up their fall schedule, the Illini believe they have had a successful fall and are looking forward to the spring season.

“There is a lot to build on,” Lama said.