Weekend matches in Orlando, Fla., may have been enough to warm up the Illinois women’s tennis team as it prepares to open its dual season on Friday.

The No. 33 Illini concluded their non-dual season after competing in the UCF Quad Tournament from Jan. 16-18. The tournament consisted of individual singles and doubles matches, where the Illini tested themselves against two higher-ranked squads (No. 15 Florida State and No. 25 Alabama) and host Central Florida.

With the Illini preparing to kick off their first dual match against No. 11 Tennessee, head coach Michelle Dasso felt that last weekend’s tournament was “worthwhile” and “necessary” to build a feel for competing against some higher-ranked teams and tune up her lineup.

“I think, number one, we got a ton of match play,” Dasso said. “This experience and putting the girls in this type of competition is going to be huge for us going into next weekend, and this is exactly what we needed. It also gave us an opportunity to change around some doubles teams and see what clicks.”

Overall, the Illini went 6-6 in singles and 7-6 in doubles. The Illini experimented with different duos, with senior Kristina Minor going 3-0 and playing alongside senior Megan Fudge and sophomore Chelcie Abajian.

Fudge, who ranks No. 11 in the Midwest region, went 1-1 in singles and 2-1 in doubles.

Illinois’ top freshmen recruits Breanne Smutko and Rachael White, who ranks No. 33 nationally, posted solid performances.

Smutko went 1-0 in singles and 1-2 in doubles and mostly paired with Fudge in doubles play.

But White had a rough start, as she lost her first three matches on the first two days and dropped a three-setter on Sunday against Alabama’s Courtney McLane. In her final doubles match paired with junior Marisa Lambropoulos, White was able to pull off a tight 9-8 (1) win against Florida State’s Lauren McCreless and Francesca Segarelli.

“It was a long weekend, but I think that our conditioning has helped us a lot,” White said.

Dasso especially felt that the tournament was important in getting her freshmen in the dual match atmosphere.

“I think they were pretty nervous by the first day, but by the third day they both fought through those nerves, and I think that’s only going to help them for next week,” Dasso said.

Unfortunately for the Illini, junior Leigh Finnegan suffered an injury Friday as she competed in one singles and doubles match, where she dropped both matches. Finnegan is ranked No. 16 in the Midwest, and the duo of her and White rank No. 7 in the region.

It is uncertain if Finnegan will be ready to play by Friday, but Dasso said that they will “just have to play it day by day and see how she’s doing.”

After taking four weeks off prior to the tournament, the Illini came out of the weekend feeling loose.

“It was fun,” Fudge said. “Obviously we worked hard and did a lot of conditioning, so we all feel a lot better now.”