After two weeks away from action, Illinois women’s tennis is set to host Maryland and Rutgers this weekend. The first serve against Maryland is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, while play begins at noon on Sunday against Rutgers. The Illini have lost three consecutive matches against ranked opponents entering their conference debut.
“We try to have a short memory,” said head coach Evan Clark. “We’ve had a good break to not think about it as much, which is good and bad; sometimes you want to go right back into competing. Everybody is in a good mindset. I’m never really worried about this team leaving with some losses. Their confidence is high, and they continue to work.”
On top of the extended break between matches, Illini players had the fortune of preparing during a week of no classes due to spring break. The extra focus on tennis was helpful for freshman Alice Xu, who will participate in her first Big Ten matches this weekend.
“The fact that our first (Big Ten) match is the weekend after we had no school is amazing,” Xu said. “I could focus completely on my tennis and not have to worry about school. It definitely takes a lot of stress off my shoulders.”
Illinois is in front of both Maryland and Rutgers by a wide margin in their respective all-time series. In 11 total meetings, the Illini have lost to the Terrapins just once and are 8-0 under Clark. An even more impressive display of dominance has been enforced on Rutgers, with Illinois boasting an 8-0 all-time record and a 6-0 mark under Clark.
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Despite dropping its most recent match against No. 29 Washington, Illinois saw its new top duo enter the ITA rankings thanks to an upset on court one over No. 34 Olsen/Jacobs. Junior Megan Heuser and Xu now sit at No. 35 and will be up against steep competition in both matches, going against No. 64 Cadar/Brumfield on Friday and No. 58 Badawi/Nguyen on Sunday.
Heuser and Xu are Illinois’ first-ranked duo since Heuser and senior Kate Duong were No. 57 last November. Their rise in the national ranks has been electric, but Xu said that they’ve been trying to keep their focus on the court since earning the title of No. 35.
“We try to look at it as ‘It’s just a number,’” Xu said. “We just want to keep improving and competing hard and playing well. We try not to think about it too much; try not to add any extra pressure on ourselves. We just want to go out and play the best tennis that we can. Hopefully, the results will follow.”
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