Following a weekend where Illinois women’s tennis (3-6) played three top 10 teams, it was back at home against a pair of Big 12 opponents. On Friday, Illinois hastily downed Iowa State (4-2), with junior McKenna Schaefbauer delivering the clincher over No. 70 senior Anna Supapitch Kuearum. However, Saturday afternoon was less sunny for Illinois, which lost 4-1 to No. 22 Baylor (8-1).
Exhale
After playing four ranked teams in its last five matches, Illinois will not face a currently ranked team until March 29, when it will face No. 6 Michigan (6-3). No. 17 Ohio State (5-1) is the only other top-25 team on Illinois’ schedule.
Much-needed win
Despite hosting, the ITA National Indoor Championships were not kind to the Illini. To start, Illinois was against No. 2 Texas A&M (9-1), its highest-ranked opponent under head coach Evan Clark. Days 2 and 3 were hardly a step down, with a pair of squads ranked higher than any team Illinois faced last season: No. 3 Oklahoma State (6-3) and No. 6 UCLA (4-2).
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The Illini lost all three matches by a combined margin of 12-1, making Friday’s match against the Cyclones that much more important.
Illinois answered the call in spectacular fashion. Starting with doubles wins on courts two and three, the Illini flew through the Cyclones at a record pace. Illinois continued to pick up momentum in singles, as senior Kasia Treiber (6-0, 6-4) and sophomore Alice Xu (6-0, 6-1) lost just five games combined in a pair of straight-set wins.
Their wins set up Schaefbauer to clinch on court one. Undeterred by Supapitch Kuearum, Schaefbauer delivered a pair of 6-2 sets that pushed the Illini to victory. The match lasted just 1:46, Illinois’ shortest match of the season and the only one under two hours.
“It feels pretty good (to get a ranked win),” Schaefbauer said. “Especially after (last) weekend, it was good for all of us to bounce back with a team win.”
Tripleheader Saturday
Saturday was a busy day for Illinois tennis. The men played matches at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. while the women squared off with Baylor at 3:30 p.m.
The second leg of Illinois’ weekend started on a positive note. In doubles, Schaefbauer and Treiber quickly worked through their opponents on court three for a 6-1 win. However, the Bears were strong in the other two matches and entered singles with a 1-0 advantage.
Baylor also struck first in singles, claiming courts one and three in straight sets to move within one point of victory. However, the Illini put up a fight in all four other matches. After trailing 0-3 on her opponent’s serve in the first set, senior Megan Heuser rallied to claim a 7-5, 6-1 win that put Illinois on the board.
“That was great,” Clark said. “I thought she was kind of due for a match. We talked a lot this morning about ‘good things happen when you least expect it.’ Then she got down 0-3, and I kept telling her that, and she got through it. I think she found herself a little bit today. It was good for her to get a W and get a point on the board for us.”
Senior Kida Ferrari and freshman Ariel Madatali were pushed to a third set after they both won their first set. On the flip side, Treiber forced a third set after dropping her first. Unfortunately for the Illini, the comeback was cut short by Baylor’s No. 85 freshman Na Dong. Treiber was trailing 3-6, 6-4, 0-2, and Madatali was leading 6-2, 2-6, 2-0 when the match concluded.
Illinois gets its first break of the season this weekend before returning to action at the Atkins Tennis Center on March 1 for a doubleheader against Western Michigan and Chicago State.
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