Sunday sweeps! Illinois women’s tennis put on a perfect home performance against Rutgers on Sunday for their third win in the Big Ten. The Illini, now 10-6 overall and 3-1 in the conference, didn’t drop a point against the Scarlet Knights at Atkins Tennis Center as they sparked what is now a two-game winning streak.

“It was a great win,” said head coach Evan Clark. “It’s always nice to get a 7-0 win. Those aren’t too easy to get especially against a good team like Rutgers. I thought they competed really, really well in doubles and singles and they really pressed us in singles, especially the second set.”

Illinois quickly gained momentum after a strong start in doubles play. The point was earned following wins from Court 1 and 2. The duo of sophomore Kate Duong and freshman Megan Heuser defeated Tess Fisher and Minchae Kim, followed by the team of juniors Josie Frazier and Ashley Yeah claiming victory over Jackeline Lopez and Kristiana Zahare. The Illini were in the process of completing the doubles sweep over the Scarlet Knights when Court 3’s match was called. The Illini duo of junior Emily Casati and freshman Kasia Treiber were up 4-2 against Daira Cardenas and Sydney Kaplan at the time of stoppage. Illinois 1-0 Rutgers.

Singles play saw six more consecutive wins for the Illini, beginning with an amazing display from Kate Duong on Court 1. Duong found herself initially down 2-3 in the first set against Tess Fisher, before rallying and going on an incredible 10-0 combined run to win the match 6-3, 6-0 for the Illini’s second point against the Scarlet Knights. Illinois 2-0 Rutgers.

“I think I just got a little bit more comfortable with how (Fisher) plays her game,” Duong said. “She plays a little bit differently than a lot of the girls I usually play, so it took me about four or five games to adjust to that. Once I adjusted, I was able to take shots I knew I could hit and wanted to hit. I capitalized on every ball, and that’s how I was successful there.”

Illinois kept up the pressure on Rutgers and added the two clinching points thanks to wins from Megan Heuser and Kasia Treiber, on Courts 4 and 5 respectively. Heuser finished off Minchae Kim 6-1, 6-4, and Treiber beat Daira Cardenas 6-0, 7-5 to bring the match fully out of the Scarlet Knight’s reach. Illinois 4-0 Rutgers.

As play continued, the Illini weren’t finished there. Ashley Yeah added Illinois’ fifth point after defeating Jackeline Lopez 6-4, 7-5, on Court 2. Yeah has been a proven winner for the Illini this season and is currently on a combined 8-0 undefeated streak in Big Ten doubles and singles play. The sixth point for Illinois came after senior Shivani Ingle won 6-2, 6-4 against Kristiana Zahare on Court 6, and the seventh, final point came on Court 3 as Josie Frazier endured a long and grueling match against Sydney Kaplan. Frazier came out victorious in the end by a score of 6-7, 6-3, 7-6(6). Final score: Illinois 7, Rutgers 0.

Sunday’s win provided further momentum for the Illini’s Big Ten push. Now with a 3-1 conference record, Illinois jumped up a spot in the standings to fourth place. Next week, the team will be leaving Urbana to travel for a road showdown with Iowa. Things have been clicking for the Illini at home, but the road matches have been a different story. Illinois hasn’t won away from home since January 17, where it defeated BYU on neutral ground in Las Vegas. Next Friday will provide an opportunity to change this.

The Illini (10-6 overall, 3-1 in the Big Ten) will travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes (4-11 overall, 0-4 in the Big Ten) for their fifth Big Ten match of the season.

“Going 2-0 this weekend was really key for us,” Duong said. “Last weekend we had a tough loss against Wisconsin and we wanted to get right off the bat and come out strong this weekend. Winning 7-0 today and 4-3 yesterday gives us confidence going on the road, and I think we’ll be really good next week.”

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