After serving as interim head coach of women’s tennis in 2015-16, Evan Clark earned the official title of head coach in June 2016. Illinois was 15-9 that season, including an 8-3 mark in the Big Ten. Despite missing out on the NCAA tournament, Director of Athletics Josh Whitman saw enough from Clark to hand over the keys full time.
Illinois struggled in 2016-17 (14-13) but hit its stride under Clark in 2017-18. That season featured a record-tying 22 wins, nine of which came in conference (22-6, 9-3). It also marked the first time Illinois made the NCAA tournament since 2012 and the third time it ever reached the round of 32 (2003, 2009). The following year began with a stiff slate against No. 16 Kansas, No. 21 Virginia and No. 4 Duke that put Illinois in a 0-3 hole. However, the Illini finished the year 16-12 and posted yet another impressive mark in conference play (8-3).
After two seasons derailed by COVID-19, the Illini are riding a two-year streak of earning NCAA tournament bids and are well on their way to earning another one. Seventeen matches into the season, Illinois owns an 8-9, 3-3 record and is No. 48 in the ITA top 75. However, its last two weekends had an extra layer to them, as Clark claimed two Illini coaching records.
Illinois’ win over No. 62 Nebraska (11-6, 1-5) on March 16 was the 139th of Clark’s career in Champaign-Urbana. This moved him ahead of former head coach Jennifer Roberts, who previously held the title of winningest coach in program history with 138 wins from 1988-98. After earning the prestigious achievement, Clark was quick to thank the people who helped him reach this point.
“I’ve been here too long,” Clark joked. “Josh (Whitman) has kept me around too long, but it’s a good feeling. I don’t do a ton; it’s a credit to the current players, former players, assistant coaches, support staff and administration.”
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While Illinois tennis does have precedent for longstanding head coaches with Brad Dancer leading the men’s team for over 20 years, Clark never envisioned that he would last long enough to accomplish this when he was first hired.
“No chance, no chance,” Clark said. “I didn’t think I’d be here (this long). This is year 10 and it’s hard to believe, but I’m just super fortunate to still be here and keep doing what I’m doing. (I’ve been) fortunate enough to have really good teams and really good support from everyone. It takes a village.”
On top of support within the building from staff and players alike, Clark said that his biggest supporter is his wife.
“My wife’s pretty important,” Clark said. “She’s been supportive, followed me around all over the country. We’ve got four kids at home she’s taken care of, so that’s the most important thing to me.”
One week after breaking the total win record, Clark and the Illini also broke the Big Ten win record. Roberts also previously held this mark, notching 68 Big Ten wins in 11 years. Downing Oregon (7-8, 0-6) on March 22 was Clark’s 69th Big Ten win, despite the opponent not quite feeling like a Big Ten opponent just yet.
“It was the classic Illinois versus Oregon Big Ten matchup,” Clark said. “We know a lot of these (Big Ten) teams and we didn’t feel like we knew Oregon. That’s just part of the process of them coming to the conference, but it does feel strange. We’re excited they’re in the conference – they’ve got a great program – but it’s definitely a new look.”
With both milestones out of the way, Clark said the team is looking forward to adding even more wins.
“It’s been a fun 10 years,” Clark said. “You just don’t really think about (milestones) until it happens. Our goal now is to get more, especially with this squad. There’s a lot more left in them and I’m excited to see what they do down the stretch.”
Illinois is on the road this weekend, traveling for a pair of matches in Michigan. Starting on Saturday against No. 3 Michigan (13-3, 6-0) at 11 a.m., Illinois continues its weekend at No. 73 Michigan State (10-7, 2-4) on Sunday at 9 a.m.
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