Since running into a gauntlet at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, No. 42 Illinois (11-11, 6-5) has been trying to catch up in the win column. Ahead of conference play, the Illini bounced back from three losses in three days by going 3-1 and moving to 5-6 overall.
Five weekends of 1-1 splits in the Big Ten soon followed, leaving Illinois one match behind in wins every week. However, Illinois only played one match last weekend and defeated No. 50 Northwestern (11-12, 4-7). For the first time since early February, the Illini ended the weekend with an equal number of wins and losses.
Round 2 with Northwestern
After starting the season at No. 25 Notre Dame (19-4) in January, Illinois played its next match against Northwestern and earned a 4-2 victory. Illinois won the doubles point and picked up singles wins from junior McKenna Schaefbauer, senior Megan Heuser and freshman Ariel Madatali. The two squads were evenly matched, with five of six singles matches having a tiebreaker or going to three sets. Despite both teams hailing from the Big Ten, that match did not count towards their conference records.
Two months later, the two squads reunited at Northwestern. Deep into Big Ten play, this match counted towards the standings.
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Freshly ranked No. 82 Heuser and senior Kida Ferrari quickly put the Illini ahead in doubles with a 6-1 win. Not long after, Schaefbauer and senior Kasia Treiber officially gave Illinois the doubles point (6-3). The Illini led 5-3 in the unfinished doubles match.
Unlike their first meeting, singles were much less contested. Schaefbauer and Heuser jumped out to two quick straight set wins, with both players losing just four games total. Schaefbauer’s opponent on court one, freshman Erica Jessel, was No. 125 during the match but missed the April 15 update after the loss.
Trailing 3-0, Northwestern gained some ground with a win from No. 117 senior Sydney Pratt. However, the Wildcats’ rebuttal was short. The next match to finish sealed it for the Illini. Building on her momentum from doubles, Treiber took the first set of her match in impressive fashion. The Illinois native did not surrender a single point in the tiebreaker after splitting the first 12 games (7-6 (0)). There was still a back and forth in set two, but Treiber ultimately clinched in straight sets with a 6-4 victory.
Closing the regular season
The regular season has two more matches to offer the Illini, both in the state of Indiana. This weekend, Illinois will close its regular season at Indiana (8-13, 2-9) and No. 60 Purdue (11-7, 5-6) hoping to shore up conference seeding and boost their NCAA tournament resume.
@blountco21
