Illinois (3-6) took on No. 35 Wisconsin (7-2) at Atkins Tennis Center for the last out-of-conference regular-season match-up of the season. Although Wisconsin is a Big Ten team, it will not count towards the conference standings. Illinois fell 4-3 in very close matches. Despite the loss, senior McKenna Schaefbauer had perhaps the best win of her career.
No. 84 Schaefbauer played against No. 14 senior Maria Sholokhova. In their confrontation last season, Sholokhova won 6-2, 6-4 for the Badgers in week two of conference at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Schaefbauer would clean this match up 6-1, 6-4, a massive upset to build momentum heading into the Big Ten season.
“I feel like my whole career, I’ve kind of been waiting for a win like this,” Schaefbauer said.
As the number one player on the lineup for Illinois since transferring from South Carolina after her sophomore season, Schaefbauer has faced many high-ranked opponents. In dual meets, the highest win she’s had was against No. 25 Baylor senior Na Dong, who was ranked No. 40 in the country at the time.
The rest of the team didn’t fare quite as well as Schaefbauer did.
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High energy falls flat
The energy was high, with over 200 fans showing up for a whiteout, including the women’s golf and men’s tennis teams, leading chants in support of their fellow Illini.
“Having that energy really makes a difference,” Schaefbauer said on the role a crowd can have. “I think it helped us in a lot of moments.”
The Illini needed energy after losing a close doubles point. Wisconsin won on Courts 1 and 3. The pairing of sophomore Tess Bucher and junior Alice Xu hasn’t had a win since Nov. 7, 2025, in the consolation bracket of the ITA D1 Women’s Central Sectional. The Illini lost 6-2. The Badgers were dominant throughout the set, though both players made great plays. Bucher hit multiple winning dropshot volleys, and Xu was serving well, fighting for control from the baseline.
Although Court 3 would eventually fall, they got off to an early lead. They led 4-1, mainly to be attributed to very consistent net play by Schaefbauer and freshman Kimiko Cooper. The turn of the match came as Schaefbauer broke. Her serve continues to be a weapon, but when you hit big, you miss big.
This would have Wisconsin go on a 4-game win streak, pushing past even to 5-4. Schaefbauer and Cooper tried to get ahead. But, 5-5 turned to 6-5. Cooper left the line open and got a shot drilled down the alley.
When the match went to a tie break, Illinois got to match point 6-4, but was unable to clinch. The Badgers won on their own serve, 7-6 (9-7).
On Court 2, sophomores Ariel Madatali and Cara Mester had their match cut right before it could be finished at 6-6 (7-7). This was a back-and-forth game with both teams hitting great shots, but Mester really stood out. She was able to make multiple key plays from everywhere on the court, on offense and defense. The duo applied pressure at every instance, and it was getting to Wisconsin, evident when it double-faulted in key moments in the tie-break.
Illinois won five first sets in singles, only three second sets, and lost both matches that went to a third. This raises concerns as Illinois goes into conference play. The Illini will regularly play two matches in a weekend, and having multiple players playing three hours the day before can cause a cascade affecting other matches.
“We’re winning first sets, so we’re putting ourselves in a good position,” said head coach Evan Clark. “I think we’ll get over it.”
As they head into Big Ten play, the Illini have a deceptive record of 3-6, with only the Badgers being a loss from a team outside the top 25. With two freshmen and three sophomores in the lineup, this team is inexperienced. Compounding that with cancelled matches and a difficult out-of-conference slate, the Illini have struggled to find their footing.
Illinois has a week off before kicking off conference play, facing Nebraska (6-2) on March 6. It plays Iowa (6-5) on March 8, before eventually returning to Urbana to face Northwestern (6-4) on March 14.
