Illinois women’s tennis played out its final two regular season matches, both in the state of Michigan, over the course of this weekend. No. 23 Michigan and Michigan State provided Illinois with very different experiences, as the former sits second in the Big Ten while the latter sits one off the bottom of the standings.

In its last match, Illinois pulled out a memorable 4-3 victory over archrivals Northwestern. Sophomore Kate Duong was named Big Ten Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week following her role in the Illini’s comeback triumph over the Wildcats.

To kick off the weekend, it was the more difficult of the two Michigan teams on Friday as the Illini traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the No. 23 Wolverines in their penultimate match of the season. It was a difficult afternoon for Illinois, but things started off well.

Despite dropping the initial doubles match, the Illini showed their resilience. The junior duo of Ashley Yeah and Josie Frazier was defeated on Court 2 by Kari Miller and Andrea Cerdan, 6-2, but Illinois answered back with a 6-4 victory on Court 3 by the team of junior Emily Casati and freshman Kasia Treiber, who took down Anca Craciun and Nicole Hammond. In the big Court 1 doubles match, the dynamic duo of Duong and freshman Megan Heuser pulled out a tight 7-6 (7-4) victory against Michigan’s Jaedan Brown and Julia Fliegner. Illinois 1-0 Michigan.

The match began to fall out of the Illini’s hands during singles play, beginning with Casati losing out to Gala Mesochoritou on Court 6 by a 6-1, 6-2 score. Duong fought hard on Court 1 against No. 16 Miller but could not claim victory, losing out 6-2, 6-4. Frazier was the next to fall, suffering defeat against Hammond on Court 3 by a 6-2, 6-2 score. Michigan then completed the singles sweep as Julia Fliegner took down Treiber 6-3, 6-3 on Court 5. Both Yeah and Heuser had their matches called on Courts 2 and 4, respectively. Yeah was battling out a close 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 1-0 match against No. 89 Brown, and Heuser was down 7-5, 5-2 against Cerdan. Final score: Illinois 1, Michigan 4.

The Illini had a day to shake off the loss as it headed to East Lansing to take on the struggling Spartans. It was here that Illinois managed to end the regular season on a high note, with things getting off to a strong start on Sunday morning.

Doubles play was no problem for the Illini, as they took Courts 2 and 3 to clinch the first point. Frazier/Yeah took down Ayshe Can and Nicole Stephens by a 6-1 score, followed by Casati/Treiber’s victory against Charlotte Gisclon and Dagmar Zdrubecka by a 6-4 finish. Duong/Heuser were up 4-3 when their Court 1 match against Mary Lewis and Maja Pietrowicz was called. Illinois 1-0 Michigan State.

Singles play also got off to a great start for Illinois as Frazier won out against Pietrowicz 6-1, 6-2 on Court 3 for the second point of the match. This was followed up by Heuser, who defeated Lauren Lemonds 6-1, 6-4 on Court 4. Heuser, who earned the winning point over Northwestern last week, has been a crucial component for Illinois this season and has not shied away from Big Ten matches.

“My confidence since Wisconsin has just been rising and rising,” Heuser said following the win over the Wildcats. “I feel like I haven’t hit my peak yet.”

Michigan State managed to get one back, putting themselves on the scoreboard after Charlotte Gisclon defeated Casati on Court 6 by a 6-4, 6-0 scoreline. However, the Illini clinched the win thanks to Treiber, who once again delivered the important, late point to earn the win. Treiber took down Stephens in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 turnaround to put the fourth and final point up for the Illini. Both Duong and Yeah had their matches go unfinished on Courts 1 and 2, respectively. Duong was in the midst of a 6-3, 6-6 (3-4) battle against Lewis, and Yeah was up 6-3, 4-6, 2-1 against Can at the time of stoppage. Final score: Illinois 4, Michigan State 1.

After finishing with a 15-8 overall record, an 8-3 conference record and landing fourth in the Big Ten standings, the Illini have improved thanks to a dynamic and clutch freshman class, and have had a very positive 2022 regular season. In spite of some of its road struggles against top opposition this year, this relatively young Illinois team has proven that it is capable of competing and achieving success in the Big Ten.

There is still more for the Illini to prove, with the offseason now upon them. The Big Ten Tournament begins play in Iowa on Wednesday, and Illinois will play its first match at 6 p.m. on Thursday against the winner of Iowa/Michigan State the day prior.

james_kim15

[email protected]