Illinois women’s tennis will be spending the weekend in the state of Michigan as it takes on No. 23 Michigan on Friday, followed by Michigan State on Sunday. These two matches will serve as the Illini’s final matches of the regular season as they currently sit in third place in the Big Ten standings.

After defeating a high-level Northwestern team in a thrilling 4-3 home victory, Illinois will be heading out of state with the wind in its sails.

“(The win against Northwestern) will give us a lot of confidence heading into Michigan,” head coach Evan Clark said. “Michigan is one of the better teams in the Big Ten. I think they’re second behind Ohio State, so this win is a great momentum builder for Michigan next Friday.”

Illinois will have a shot at moving into second with a win on Friday. The Illini are 22-4 against the Wolverines in recent times and will need the same energy and passion that they brought against the Wildcats last week.

This is a highly anticipated matchup, and for junior Josie Frazier, it provides a chance to finally take down a school that’s managed to avoid being added to her win list in three years of playing for Illinois.

“In my time here we’ve never beaten them,” Frazier said in an interview conducted earlier in the season. “And we’re definitely hungry for that win.”

The last time out, the Wolverines got the better of the Illini, shutting them out by a 4-0 score line.

After a day’s break, the Illini will then travel to Michigan State for a Sunday morning clash. This will be Illinois’ last regular-season Big Ten match.

The Illini have gotten the better of the Spartans in recent memory, with a 20-4 record against them. However, the last time out it was Michigan State who claimed the win, achieving a narrow 4-3 triumph in Urbana. The Illini will be hoping to avoid being upset this time around, as the Spartans currently sit in 13th place in the conference standings with only one Big Ten win this season.

Securing two wins in the state of Michigan would right the wrongs of the losses to these schools last season. Unfortunately for the Illini, while they are sitting high in the conference, it is unlikely they’ll be able to win the Big Ten title.

Illinois would need a perfect weekend and No. 10 Ohio State would need to slip up in both of its remaining matches against mid-table Maryland and last place Rutgers for there to be a title discussion at all. Even then, the Buckeye’s overall record is better than the Illini’s, adding to the improbability.

Illinois (14-7 overall, 7-2 B1G) will play No. 23 Michigan (14-5 overall, 8-1 B1G) at 3 p.m. in Ann Arbor on Friday before traveling to East Lansing for a showdown with Michigan State (11-9 overall, 8-1 B1G) at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

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