After dropping two heartbreaking losses at home last weekend, the women’s tennis team bounced back with two wins on Sunday.

The team had no trouble dismantling Illinois State in the first match sweeping them 7-0, but in the nightcap against Illinois-Chicago, it got a little too close for comfort.

With the match tied 3-3, junior Pavlina Akritas rallied from a 4-3 deficit in the second set of the No. 6 singles match to eclipse the Flames’ Grace Gil-Morlis, 7-6, 7-5 and clinch the victory for the Illini, 4-3.

Freshman Anastasia Sokolova also came up big for the Illini. Sokolova defeated the Flames’ Christina Oum 6-4, 6-0 at the No. 5 seed in singles. Along with her singles play, her and freshman Alejandra Cuadra teamed up in doubles to pick up a win at the No. 3 spot.

“I was very proud of Pavlina and Anastasia,” said head coach Sujay Lama. “They haven’t had the chance to play as much as some of the others, but they took full advantage of their opportunity today. They had a great week of preparation, and they out-worked several of their teammates this afternoon.”

Although it came down to the last match, it was not that close the whole way. The Illini won the doubles point, and freshman Macall Harkins won her singles match at the top seed along with Sokolova’s singles victory, giving the Illini a 3-0 lead.

Then, the Illini dropped three straight singles matches in the middle of the lineup, all in two sets. Junior Brianna Knue dropped her match playing at No. 2 in the lineup, Cuadra lost at No. 3, and sophomore Emily Wang fell at the No. 4 spot.

The Illini continued their strong play in doubles, winning each of their six matches on the day. Senior Cynthya Goulet and Wang won both of their matches playing at the top seed, and Harkins and Knue, who are rated No. 54 in the country, were flawless at the No. 2 seed.

In that match, Lama used the match to mix up the lineup and see what different players can do in different situations.

In search of a No. 3 doubles team, Lama mixed things up at that spot. In the first match against Illinois State, Lama went with freshman Momei Qu and Cuadra, who were victorious 8-3 in their match. Then, he paired up Cuadra with Sokolova against the Flames, and they squeaked by in their match 9-7.

“Our objective today was to get as many matches as possible for as many players as possible,” Lama said. “We did that.”

In the first match against Illinois State, the Illini had no problems. The Illini won each of their singles matches in two sets. The most the Redbirds scored in any set was four points.

Goulet won her eighth consecutive match with ease, beating the Redbirds Elizabeth Bingier, 6-1, 6-1.

The 33rd-ranked Illini are scheduled to take on No. 34 Harvard on Saturday in Cambridge, Mass.