All the Illinois women’s tennis team can do now is wait.
After dropping its match to Purdue 4-1 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, the Illini must now wait and see if they are selected to be in the NCAA tournament field.
It was Illinois’ (14-11, 6-5 Big Ten) second loss to Purdue (17-5, 9-4) in six days after falling to the Boilermakers 5-2 last Sunday at home.
“It wasn’t our best performance,” head coach Michelle Dasso said. “We were ready to play, but the main difference was Purdue just played better than us.”
The Illini were sharp in their first round matchup with Michigan State, but were overmatched from the start against a much tougher Purdue team that has lost only to ranked opponents this season. The Illini quickly lost the doubles point as the Boilermakers clinched the No. 2 and 3 doubles matches. It was the first time in the past six matches that the Illini surrendered the doubles point.
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While losing the point in itself is not good, losing the doubles point has been an ominous omen for the Illini all season. The team is just 1-9 in matches where it loses the doubles point, as compared to a 13-2 mark in competitions where the Illini earn the first point.
“It’s been so important to us all year,” Dasso said. “We won the doubles point against them on Sunday. … That was a little deflating.”
Things did not get much better in singles play. Sophomore Julia Jamieson and senior Rachael White each lost their singles match before senior Breanne Smutko put the Illini on the board with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum.
“I’m proud of myself and was able to get revenge,” Smutko said. “I was focusing on it all week, and I also knew that if we didn’t make the NCAA tournament, it could be the last match of my career. I think I had a lot more motivation than anyone else out there that day.”
Purdue’s Lynda Xepoleas shut out Melissa Kopinski in the second set to earn a 7-5, 6-0 victory to clinch the match.
One positive from the conference tournament for Illinois was seeing fellow bubble team Penn State lose in the opening round against Minnesota. The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 44 in the latest ITA rankings, one spot behind No. 43 Illinois, and were upset by the unranked Gophers 4-1.
The NCAA tournament bracket will be unveiled on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. via NCAA.com.
“We’re truly a bubble team,” Dasso said. “I’m eager and anxious for Tuesday afternoon. I really don’t know where we’ll end up.”
Stephen can be reached at [email protected] and @steve_bourbon.
