In its third conference match of the season, Illinois women’s tennis claimed victory at Atkins Tennis Center against Maryland on Friday. In what was set up to be a big clash between the then 8-6 Illini and the then 12-1 Terrapins, it was the Illini who did not disappoint and put in a strong performance in front of the home crowd.

A win against Maryland was of utmost importance for Illinois following a 2-5 defeat to Wisconsin last Sunday. Now back on track, the Illini are 2-1 and moved from eighth to fifth in conference standings.

“We were a little bit down about Sunday’s loss,” head coach Evan Clark said. “We felt like we left one on the table there, and so to bounce back and get a win right away is good confidence for the girls.”

As it got closer and closer to game time on Friday afternoon, Illinois got set to go to work against a Maryland side who’d only had one loss on the season. With a packed Atkins and a confident Illini team, fans were in for an exciting Big Ten clash.

Illinois started off hot in doubles play. The Court 1 duo of freshman Megan Heuser and sophomore Kate Duong were on fire as they took down the Terrapin team of Mary Brumfield and Selma Cadar by a 6-1 scoreline. The Illini weren’t finished yet as their Court 2 duo of juniors Josie Frazier and Ashley Yeah ended the doubles contest with a 6-3 triumph over the team of Minorka Miranda and Francesca Feodorov. Illinois claimed the doubles point following this win. The Court 3 Illini partnership of junior Emily Casati and freshman Kasia Treiber had their match go unfinished but were in the middle of working their way back out of a 3-5 deficit. Illinois 1-0 Maryland.

The competition in singles play was much closer, and it was Maryland to strike first on Court 3. Frazier was taken down by Brumfield 1-6, 0-6 as the Terrapins leveled the contest at one apiece. However, it was Heuser and Yeah who quickly answered back with victories on Courts 4 and 2, respectively. Heuser defeated Jojo Bach 6-4, 6-1 and Yeah triumphed over Miranda 6-2, 6-2. Illinois 3-1 Maryland.

The Terrapins weren’t backing down as Selma Cadar earned a victory over Duong on Court 1. Duong struggled to battle back against a top performance from Cadar, and was defeated 1-6, 4-6. Illinois 3-2 Maryland.

With two matches still ongoing at this point in the match, the overall contest could have gone either way. Two consecutive Maryland victories would have seen them leave Urbana with a second consecutive victory in the Big Ten. On the other hand, Illinois needed just one more win to seal its second win in the conference. Enter Treiber.

Treiber had put in a strong performance throughout Friday afternoon and did not slow up during her singles match on Court 5. The Illini clutched the victory as Treiber finished off Kallista Liu 6-3, 6-2 to put the fourth and final point on the board. Senior Shivani Ingle continued to play out her match on Court 6 despite the result not affecting the result of the competition. Ingle ended up losing out against Feodorov in a close 6-2, 2-6, 10-6 match. Final score: Illinois 4-3 Maryland.

There were multiple highlights for the Illini throughout the match. For one, Heuser put in a top performance to secure the crucial second point for Illinois. Heuser’s confidence was unmatched on Friday as her battle cries could be heard throughout the afternoon. Despite the beginning of the first set remaining rather close, Heuser quickly pulled ahead and won handily.

“I just started gaining a lot of confidence,” Heuser said. “Once I broke (Bach) on serve to win the first set when I was up 5-4. I think I came out in the second set pretty hot, I was pretty confident in my game, feeling my shots, and I was able to take control of the match.”

Heuser also expressed the team’s determination to beat Maryland and to continue their rise in the standings.

“It was really really key for all of us to come out and perform,” Heuser said. “We all really wanted it. We didn’t want to go 1-2 in the Big Ten, we wanted to be up 2-1. We just all wanted it and I think it showed on the tennis courts today.”

Another top performer for the Illini was star player Yeah, who was recently named Big Ten Athlete of the Week. Since the start of conference play Yeah has gone 6-0 and has been consistently reliable to put points on the board for Illinois. Her outstanding run of form has made her one of the ones to watch on this Illinois team. Yeah’s award saw her become the first Illini in the women’s tennis program to win it in two years.

“It’s definitely a big honor,” Yeah said. “Honestly I wasn’t expecting it but it was really nice to get that award. It boosted our confidence and the last time we won it was before COVID-19 and it was an old teammate of mine, so it was cool to be the first in a while.”

Yeah also expressed the importance of succeeding in conference play this year.

“Our goal is to do really well in the Big Ten,” Yeah said. “The Wisconsin loss was definitely not something we wanted on our record but we know we can beat every team in the Big Ten. We know we have the skills, so we want to keep that as our goal moving forward.”

Illinois (9-6, 2-1 B1G) will host Rutgers (5-8, 0-2 B1G) on Sunday for its fourth Big Ten match of the season. The Illini are now 8-1 at home and despite the setback versus the Badgers at Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex, the team are yet to suffer defeat at Atkins.

Despite Rutgers’ less than impressive record this season, Illinois won’t be underestimating them on Sunday.

“Everyone’s good,” Clark said. “Rutgers is a good team and so we’ll need our best stuff. I think everyone gets up for us in a way, in coming here to play us, so we’re hoping to carry the momentum. I think the girls are in a good place, so we’ll keep pushing along.”

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