This weekend, Illinois (2-5) hosted the ITA Indoor Nationals alongside Northwestern for the second year in a row. As the No. 8 seed on its side of the bracket, Illinois lost all three matches it competed in. Illinois fell 4-0 to a trio of ranked opponents: No. 3 UNC (9-1), No. 7 Duke (6-2) and No. 12 Vanderbilt (6-2). All five of Illinois’ losses this season have come at the hands of ranked opponents.
Doubles trouble
Starting the weekend against top-seeded UNC, all the doubles courts immediately had their serve broken. On court five, sophomore Cara Mester won Illinois its first game of the day with exceptional serving.
UNC boasts two ranked doubles pairings: graduate student Oby Kajuru and sophomore Susanna Maltby rank No. 5, and sophomore Alanis Hamilton and senior Reese Brantmeier rank No. 6. The Illini proved no match for the talented duos, as courts three and five both lost 6-1. Illinois’ No. 59 pair, sophomore Tess Bucher and junior Alice Xu, had their match suspended down 5-2.
The double matches over the rest of the weekend were closer, even as Illinois took on five more ranked pairings. On day three against Vanderbilt, there was a lineup change for doubles as senior McKenna Schaefbauer sat out. The regular third doubles pairing was moved up, as Schaefbauer’s regular partner, freshman Kimiko Cooper, played with freshman Lizzie Isyanov.
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Close singles battles
In singles, Schaefbauer suffered her first loss of the season against Brantmeier 6-2, 6-3. Schaefbauer’s first serve break occurred after she charged the net to pick up a drop shot, and Brantmeier hit a soft passing shot down the ad court line. Schaefbauer was dominant from the service line, hitting consistent aces twice on deuce points. Brantmeier was very consistent, only losing one of her serves.
Against Duke sophomore Irina Balus, Schaefbauer played a close match that was suspended after going one set apiece, 4-6, 6-4. Schaefbauer was once again hot from the line, and consistent aces kept her in the match.
Although she dropped set one, an overturned line call brought Schaefbauer momentum that she carried into set two. After this game, Balus became verbally upset at her mistakes, and in set two, she made more minor mistakes. Before the match’s suspension, Schaefbauer went up 5-4 with back-to-back aces, winning the set with a break on Balus’ serve.
Vanderbilt graduate student Célia-Bella Mohr was Schaefbauer’s last match of the weekend. The suspended match ended 3-6, 6-4, 2-2. Schaefbauer was slow to start after sitting out doubles, losing her first serve. The two traded serves until it was 3-5, when Schaefbauer lost the set, even with two aces in the game.
In set two, Schaefbauer jumped out to a quick lead, winning Mohr’s second service game. They traded games the rest of the set, with Schaefbauer sealing her 6-4 win with an ace. The unfinished match ended with a 2-2 set three.
Bucher was bounced around the lineup this tournament, starting at the number four singles position, then to number five before ending on number three after sophomore Ariel Madatadali didn’t compete against the Commodores in singles. Bucher started the tournament against UNC freshman Anna Frey.
This proved a one-sided ordeal, with Bucher losing 6-0, 6-1. Against Duke junior Shavit Kimchi, Bucher had a much closer match. The two traded games and breaks, with Bucher eventually losing in the first set 6-3.
The match ended the next set with things tied 4-4. In this match, Bucher did not take advantage of her service games; she lost many games on her serve, but through solid baseline play, was able to win back on Kimchi’s serves.
Ending the weekend against Vanderbilt, Bucher lost another close first set. The grueling set went to a seven-point tie break that extended all the way to 11-9, making Bucher 0-3 in tie breaks this season.
Isyanov stepped up this weekend, filling in on doubles and playing her highest-rated singles opponent of the season. Although all her matches ended in a loss or abandonment, she kept all her things very close, never losing a first set by more than three games. Against Vanderbilt, she sent her first set to a tie break, losing 7-6(7-3), and the second match seemed to be heading that direction when it was called off at 4-4.
Off the court
The team battled not only ranked opponents but also sickness, as many of the players and members of the coaching staff were ill. Head coach Evan Clark was not in attendance for all matches due to illness, which also led to Sunday’s lineup shift.
Illinois has one more meet before heading into conference action. The team travels to Ames, Iowa, on Friday to try to end their losing streak against the 2-2 Iowa State Cyclones. This match should be a change of pace as Iowa State only has one ranked singles player and one ranked doubles pair.
