After a packed spring season, the Illini will arrive in West Lafayette, Indiana for the Big Ten tournament as the No. 3 seed. The tournament comes off two losses to other Big Ten teams, as Illinois fell to No. 68 Nebraska in a contested 4-3 loss last Saturday before collapsing against No. 53 Iowa in a 4-1 loss the following morning. The Illini hope to regain the skills against fellow Big Ten teams that led to their 8-3 conference record coming into the tournament.

Who the Illini will face in their first match of the tournament depends on the match on Thursday. Indiana will face off against Iowa in order to determine who will face Illinois on Friday night. Both opponents will present some challenges to the Illini. Illinois has not faced Indiana during the spring season, and this lack of familiarity could go either way in helping the Illini win Friday’s match if they were to face the Hoosiers. Indiana is ranked No. 68 nationally, while Illinois sits at No. 36 after last weekend’s losses. If the Illini are to face off against the Hoosiers, they should be able to rely on their superior skill to get a win and advance.

If Iowa wins, Illinois will have the chance to redeem itself from last weekend’s match. Iowa managed to grab a win at Atkins despite being the underdog, and Illinois will be looking to turn things around in the tournament. The Illini have to be sure not to let emotions from the previous weekend affect their play if they are to face off against the Hawkeyes.

It’s likely that head coach Evan Clark will lean on both junior Kate Duong and senior Ashley Yeah, as the two players were named Big Ten All-Conference stars and they’ll be essential to Illinois’ success in the tournament. Yeah has been the Illini’s main producer in singles for most of the year, but coming off of two back-to-back losses she needs to shake off the pressure and get back into the win column.

It would be surprising if Clark didn’t place Duong back with her sophomore doubles partner Megan Heuser for the tournament. The No. 19 nationally ranked duo have been Illinois’ most dominant pair, and the two have only lost two matches against other Big Ten doubles pairs.

If Illinois wins against its opponent Friday night, the team will find themselves facing Ohio State, Purdue or Nebraska depending on which team manages to move forward to face the Buckeyes. The Illini will be hoping to face off against Purdue, as their last meeting with the Boilermakers resulted in a 4-1 win back in March. Purdue is the hosting team however so they’ll be fighting to stay in the tournament for as long as possible.

If Illinois finds itself facing off against Nebraska it’ll be a similar situation to Iowa, and the team will have to be cautious heading into the match. If they face off against Ohio State, they’ll be facing a tournament rival that they haven’t faced off against before, and Ohio State is the No. 2 seed, so it’ll be the first match in the tournament where the Illini will be the underdog. No matter what opponent they may face, the Illini will have to fight for a win if they advance to make it to the semifinal match.

The battle to the championship will be a battle for Illinois, but, as the No. 3 seed, they’ll have a better chance of winning than others. With a roster sprinkled with seniors, the Illini will be hungry for a chance to end their collegiate careers with a Big Ten championship.

[email protected]