The Bulldog Classic is known as a “hidden dual” for the women’s tennis teams at Vanderbilt, Wake Forest Georgia and Illinois. The Illinois team is set to compete in the doubles round in the morning and singles in the afternoon.

As far as recent performances, the Illini didn’t compete the way they wanted to at the ITA Regional. However, the team is ready to demonstrate the improvements made on the court.  

“I feel like my mental game wasn’t as strong as it needed to be at Regionals,” sophomore Emilee Duong said. “It’s something we all need to work on, and I feel like this tournament is a great opportunity to do so.”

Rabinowitz, Duong and the rest of the team have used these tournaments as a guide to help them determine what areas of their game need adjustments.

“I wasn’t aggressive in the last tournament,” Rabinowitz said. “I’ve been working on that as well as my movement on the court, and I feel really confident going into this tournament.”

Although they won’t know which rounds they will be playing in, Duong knows each player is going to be tested.

“Everybody is going to get a taste of everything,” Duong said.

The fall season is considered more of a “practice season” that prepares the players for the spring. The teams use these tournaments as a predictor for their spring lineup as well as who will be competing in what rounds.

Sophomore Mia Rabinowitz is hoping to compete in both the singles and doubles rounds.

“I’m confident I’ll be competing in both,” Rabinowitz said. “We’re trying to put our doubles teams together for the spring, and this is a really good indicator for that.”

The Illini finished their last season 22-5 overall, and with last year’s starting lineup returning, the team is looking finish even better in 2019.

“The majority of our teammates are returners, with the exception of the walk-ons we’ve had,” Duong said. “We can start back up exactly where we left off and take ourselves further than we did last year. We can only go up.”

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