The Illinois women’s tennis team put on a show against in-state rival Illinois State at Atkins Tennis Center on Sunday. The Redbirds were the latest victim of the Illini, who shelled out another 7-0 thrashing at home.

While Illinois holds an undefeated record at Atkins so far this season, the team have been a little shaky on the road. Sunday’s result was a welcomed one after the Illini endured a difficult time at the ITA Kickoff Weekend last week in Florida, where they went 0-2.

“It was great to see the girls bounce back,” said head coach Evan Clark. “Last weekend was disappointing for all of us. It certainly left a bad taste in our mouths, so to get back on the winning side at home is a great day, especially against a good Illinois State team.”

Illinois and ISU kicked things off with a very exciting showing of doubles play. While the team of juniors Josie Frazier and Ashley Yeah suffered a 6-3 defeat, the duo of junior Emily Casati and freshman Kida Ferrari earned a 6-2 win. With doubles play tied at one apiece, the third match saw the top Illini doubles team of freshman Megan Heuser and sophomore Kate Duong put on an incredible display, going from being down 5-3 to fighting back and winning four consecutive sets, taking the thrilling 7-5 victory. Heuser/Duong ended up winning not only their match but also the doubles point in the process to pit the Illini ahead, 1-0.

In singles play, the Illini put on a perfect performance, winning all six matches. Duong (6-4, 6-3), Yeah (6-4, 7-5), Frazier (6-2, 6-0), Heuser (6-3, 6-4), Ferrari (6-4, 6-0) and senior Shivani Ingle (6-3, 6-2) added six more points to the scoreboard. Illinois completed the sweep over Illinois State by a 7-0 scoreline. 

Mentioned previously, the comeback by Heuser and Duong in doubles stole the show. Things started off slow, as they went down 5-3 in what at first appeared to be a nearly guaranteed win for ISU, which was one set away from claiming the doubles point. However, the young Illini duo put on a remarkable display of mental toughness to turn things around at the death, winning four straight sets.

“Honestly I was really nervous,” Heuser said. “Especially looking down the board and seeing that two doubles lost, three doubles were about to win and then we’re down 3-5. But we were able to go back to each other and say little things like, ‘Focus, come on we got this,’ to help each other out. Believing in each other was super big. It’s amazing that we were able to pull that one out, and I’m super proud of us.”

To achieve their inspiring comeback, having strong mental resilience was not just a benefit. It was a necessity.

“We just kept reminding ourselves that the pressure wasn’t on us,” Duong said. “The pressure was on them to close. All we had to do was put the ball on the court and then make them hit the ball. Make them put pressure on us. Toward the end they didn’t, and they gave us some gaps that we were able to capitalize on. I think that’s how we were able to gain some momentum and win the next four sets.”

While their doubles performance was a delight for the fans to witness, both Heuser and Duong made clear that doubles was not a strong portion of the Illinois’ play on Sunday. Duong admits that she and Heuser “shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position in the first place,” but she felt as though doubles shouldn’t have been as close as it was. The Illini, despite going 2-1 against the Redbirds, were not satisfied with how things went, but they used the initial shock as fuel heading into singles play.

“I think with doubles we were all very disappointed,” Heuser said. “Yeah, we got the point, but we didn’t deserve it. They just gave us opportunities, and we capitalized better than them. Going into singles, we all came out pretty focused and weren’t gonna let them win. Doubles showed us that they are a great team and they can play with us, and I think singles was really, really good.”

Illinois (5-3) handed ISU its second loss of the season and will return to Atkins next Sunday to take on Missouri (2-1) in the Braggin’ Rights contest. The Illini are currently 4-0 at home and will be looking to earn their fifth consecutive victory to keep the streak alive. 

“It’ll be really tough,” Clark said. “Mizzou’s really good. Obviously they play in the SEC, one of the best leagues in the country, and they’ve got a really great team. We’re gonna have to have our best stuff. We’ll get back to work this week, get some stuff fixed and give it our best on Sunday.”

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