In no time, the Illini found themselves down 2-0 against Marquette on Saturday in their first home match since April. Somehow, they had to get the momentum rolling. The Illini found their answer in five women to help bring them back to record a 5-2 victory.

“I think the girls showed a lot of composure after losing the doubles point, and I think last year we wouldn’t have had the stamina or the mental will power to come out and compose ourselves and take care of business in the singles,” head coach Michelle Dasso said.

After losing the doubles point and redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan falling at No. 2 singles, the Illini were in a bind. Freshman Marisa Lambropoulos and senior Momei Qu worked quickly on the court, like it was just another day at the office. Lambropoulos dominated senior Erin Watkins at the No. 3 spot and Qu fought hard against sophomore Margaret Wilson at the No. 6 spot, as both won their matches in straight sets.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the singles matches went into third sets. With the score tied 2-2, the momentum shifted to the Illini when junior Shivani Dave smashed a stroke down the baseline to win her third set against the Golden Eagles’ Christina Ruiz.

“She had a really good net game,” Dave said. “In the third set I started dipping balls a little bit lower and not giving her such a high opportunity to come in. I made sure not to let her hit any short balls. I stayed to her backhand side which is a little bit weaker.”

Dave said the crowd and her teammates really helped to change the momentum.

“Everyone who wasn’t playing and who wasn’t on the court just did a great job supporting,” she said. “It helped a lot. It definitely helped me come back in the third set.”

A minute later sophomore Kristina Minor sealed the victory for the Illini as she won her third set on court four.

“We all bounced back really quickly and shook it off,” Minor said in regards to losing the doubles point.

Sophomore Megan Fudge put the icing on the cake when she came back after losing the first set to beat Marquette’s Lauren Little.

“I think Megan was a fighter like always,” Dasso said. “It is a whole different ball game, just having her lose the first set and still come back and win that second set. It gives the other girls … a lot more pressure off their courts knowing that Megan Fudge is never going to give up. Period. I think that deserves a lot of respect.”

Although Fudge and Finnegan dominated their doubles match at the No. 1 spot, the other two pairs were unable to pull it out in the end. Lambropoulos and McCarthy lost at the No. 2 spot, as did Minor and Dave at No. 3.

“Losing the doubles point, I’ll be honest, I was a little surprised,” Dasso said. “I really believe in our doubles teams a lot. We got to take the positive side of it – that we can still win while losing the doubles point.”

Next up, the Illini will host No. 62 Western Michigan, coached by Illinois alumna Betsy Kuhle, on Monday. Dasso has yet to determine the lineup.