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Spring Preview
After
a fall season that had the Illini traveling to both coasts, the
Illinois women’s tennis team will look to use its experience to piece
together a solid spring campaign. Michelle Dasso and the Illini will
look to improve upon last spring’s 6-5 conference mark, which was
enough for a tie for fifth place.
The Illini finished the
fall season with a combined singles record of 37-34. Illinois
State-transfer Madie Baillion produced a 7-2 singles record including a
pair of wins at the Atkins Tennis Center during the Midwest Regional.
Seniors
Julia Jamieson and Melissa Kopinski turned in fall records of 5-5 and
2-5 respectively. The duo was also one of Dasso’s tested doubles
tandems but fell 8-7(1) at the USTA Collegiate Clay Court Invite in
their sole appearance.
Freshmen Jade Hilton and Grace
Tapak produced records of 5-4 and 5-5 during the fall campaign. When
paired as a doubles team the Illini newcomers fell just short to an
Eastern Michigan duo at the Midwest Regional by an 8-7(4) decision.
Emily
Barretta closed out the fall with an unblemished 3-0 singles mark. The
Winnetka, Ill. native picked up her trio of wins at the Notre Dame
Invitational.
Louise Kwong went 4-4 in singles competition
through the fall. Also, in their sophomore campaigns, Alexis Casati and
Jerricka Boone turned in records of 3-3 and 3-6 in singles competition,
respectively.
The Orange and Blue compiled a doubles
record of 18-15 as a team. Coach Dasso tested out 14 different doubles
tandems through the fall.
This fall, the sophomore tandem
of Boone in combination with Baillon produced a 2-0 record.
Individually, the two both finished with doubles marks of 8-4. Tapak
and Kwong worked to a 3-1 record together and marks of 6-5 and 4-3 in
doubles competition.
Hilton and Jamieson worked together
once at the Midwest Regional but fell to and Eastern Michigan duo.
Hilton finished a collective 5-5 in doubles while Jamieson turned in a
3-3 record. Casati and Kopinski registered one loss as a duo during the
fall while both finishing with a 1-3 doubles record overall.
The
Illini came in at 45th in the final ITA spring team rankings. Following
the 2014 fall campaign Dasso’s crew enters the spring schedule at 48th
on the charts. In the 2015 spring women’s national singles rankings,
Casati checked in at 82nd and Kwong at 97th. 2012 All-American,
Kopinski, was left off of the list entering her senior season.
“It
takes a total team effort to win dual matches,” stated Dasso. “With
that being said I am looking to Alexis and Melissa to lead the way.”
During
the midseason break, Dasso’s staff grew with the addition of Evan Clark
as an assistant coach to the Illini team. Clark joins volunteer
assistant Kurt Kopp and Dasso after a two-year stretch as the head
coach at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Coach
Dasso reflected on the winter break sharing “We spent a great deal of
time and effort in the weight room adding strength and flexibility.
Staying healthy throughout the demanding spring season is key to any
team’s success and across the board the girls feel their fitness base
improved.”
Illinois opens the spring season at the Central
Florida Invitational from Jan. 17-19 in Orlando, Fla. From Jan. 25
through March 8 the Illini play eight of 10 matches at home before
hitting the road for six straight contests. Dasso’s crew returns home
at the beginning of April for a trio of contests before traveling to
Wisconsin and Minnesota for their final regular season road trip.
Nebraska and Iowa come to town April 18-19 to close out the regular
season. The Big Ten Tournament is set to run from April 23-26.
According
to Dasso, the key to the team’s spring success is confidence. She also
added “Belief in each other and the work we have put in and enjoyment
of the process.”
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