Women's Tennis

Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Archives

Jan. 9, 2008

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The 2007-08 season brings with it new faces and most especially a revitalized lineup to take on the challenges of a new season. The Illini are coming off second-year head coach Michelle Dasso's maiden season at the helm of the program, and are now looking to build on their experiences and successes in order to bring Illinois back to the forefront of the collegiate and Big Ten ranks.

Last season, Dasso and the Illini battled through injuries and some of the nations toughest teams, as four Illini missed at least one dual match due to injury, while the team faced 12 ranked teams during the course of the year - four of which were ranked in the top 10 at one time.

However, the Illini have swept aside last year and now bring excitement and a desire for change as they welcome three new faces to the lineup, as well as note the return of redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan to the courts. Finnegan suffered a season-ending injury in 2007 that kept her out of the entire dual match season. In 2008, the roster includes seniors Alejandra Meza Cuadra and Momei Qu, junior Shivani Davé, sophomores Megan Fudge and Kristina Minor, redshirt freshman Finnegan and the incoming class of sophomore transfer Christine Stromberg and freshmen Marisa Lambropoulos and Annie McCarthy While a variety of players for Illinois will provide leadership this coming year, heading into the dual part of the schedule, that role will begin with seniors Meza Cuadra and Qu.

Meza Cuadra, who was a staple for the Illini in the bottom half of the lineup in both singles and doubles a year ago, has expertise and three years of experience that will be an asset to Illinois as the season continues.

"Alejandra is one of the fittest girls on our team," Dasso said. "She can keep her opponents out of rhythm by utilizing her wide variety of shots. She has made huge improvements with her serve and overhead over the course of the past year. When she plays with the heart and determination she possesses, she is a very hard player to beat."

As for Qu, a two-time ITA Midwest Regional participant and two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, her consistency on and off the court make her an invaluable piece to the Orange and Blue lineup.

"Momei is probably one of the smallest players in the country, but her heart and tenacity take her a long way," Dasso noted. "She is one of the fittest players on our team, and her endurance level is second to none. Momei can pinpoint her groundstrokes from corner to corner, and looks forward to the challenge of finding a way to beat her opponents."

As a constant in the middle of the lineup during her career at Illinois, Davé also will look to help spark the era of change for the Illini as one of the toughest and most grueling competitors on the squad.

"Shivani thrives on competition," Dasso said. "She hates to lose and has the ability to bang with anyone in the country from the baseline. She loves to compete, which makes her tough to beat in dual matches. Shivani also is one of those players that can raise her game to the level of her competition when she needs to in order to win."

While the Illini will rely on strong upperclassmen leadership, the strength and future of the Illini lies in the sophomore and freshman classes.

For the sophomores, Fudge enters her second season with Illinois after charting one of the strongest freshman debuts of any Illini in the history of the program. In 2007, Fudge earned All-Big Ten honors and led the team in wins in doubles and singles with 12 and 22, respectively. Fudge also battled her way into the semifinals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest regionals, going 7-1 at the event to earn a No. 10 ranking in the region by the ITA File poll.

"Fudge is a feisty fighter," Dasso said about Illinois' top returnee. "She will wear her opponent to the ground with her never-give-up attitude. Megan also brings with her an abundant amount of energy and enthusiasm every time she steps on the court. She is a vocal leader and brings a deep sense of intensity to everything she does. Megan thrives in competitive situations and is one of those rare players who is not fazed by any challenge."

Minor, another freshman who turned in a strong debut season in 2007 with 14 singles and 14 doubles victories, now looks to continue to make strides in a new year after a valuable off-season.

"Kristina has really worked hard this past year," Dasso said, "and that hard work is starting to pay off. Kristina is a very scary opponent to face. She has a huge serve, strong physical presence and heavy groundstrokes. She is an extremely offensive minded player with good court positioning, virtually forcing her opponents to play too much defense. Now what makes Kristina such a big threat is that she has learned to work points and patterns longer. She also has the ability change the pace and speed of the ball if needed."

Adding to the Illini's competitive strength as well as being a new addition to the dual match lineup this season, Finnegan adds her presence in the Orange and Blue depth chart in 2008.

"Although Leigh missed all of last spring due to an injury, I truly believe it was the best thing that could have happened to her," Dasso said about the redshirt freshman. "Leigh has a renewed passion for the game and couldn't be any hungrier to get out there and compete. She also is an extremely intelligent player who possesses very natural instincts. Leigh has the widest array of shots on our team, possesses great leadership qualities and is extremely fun to work with."

With all the returning players for the Illini geared and ready to begin a brand new season, it will be the talented additions to the squad that will be the key to Illinois' future success.

Stromberg comes to Illinois as a new face in the program, but not to the collegiate game. After playing a year at Ball State University and helping the Redbirds to a semifinal appearance in the Mid-American Conference, Stromberg is eager and ready to display her talents for a Fighting Illini fan base. "Christine has been a huge bonus to our squad," Dasso said. "She has a big serve, which allows her to take away some easy, free points. She is physically very strong, and with some continued work on her return, volleys and overall fitness level, Christine has the potential to be an extremely successful college player."

With a sophomore transfer sure to add depth and strength to the Illini lineup, the freshman class of Lambropoulos and McCarthy possesses an energy and enthusiasm that has already caught fire in the Illinois locker room this season.

"Since the day Marisa arrived on campus, she was ready to make a positive impact," Dasso said. "She has a certain charisma that makes everyone she meets want to spend more time with her. Marisa is a wonderful person and player who has loads of talent, is athletic, has unbelievable hands and plays with spunk. Best of all, she is the ultimate team player. There's no doubt in my mind she will thrive in the dual match style of college tennis."

"As for Annie, she is an unbelievable representation of Illinois and we are so fortunate to have her on our team," Dasso continued. "She has amazing hands and extremely natural doubles instincts. She is very offensive minded and possesses big groundstrokes and solid volleys, which makes her very scary to play against. Annie is extremely motivated to work hard and do well for the team, which is what makes her such a great teammate."

The two youngsters are not only going to add excitement and talent all-around, but are something the Illini are going to need down the stretch in another trying and tough schedule ahead.

Illinois opens the season on the road again, looking to go 2-0 in season openers under Dasso after taking down Marquette (4-3) at the beginning of the 2007 season.

After spending a training week in Florida (1/7-11), the Illini take on Florida Atlantic (1/12) to start things off before returning home for a pair of contests against Marquette (1/19) and Western Michigan (1/21). The Fighting Illini then hit the road again, with matches at Tennessee (1/26) and Florida State (2/3), taking Illinois into the month of February.

From there, Illinois returns home against DePaul (2/8) before hitting the road for a seven-match road swing, facing Kansas (2/10) and Washington (2/17) in non-conference action before opening the Big Ten against Purdue (3/8). Following their tangle with the Boilermakers, Illinois faces national power Notre Dame (3/12) in preparation for its Spring Break trip to Puerto Rico. There, the Illini will receive some needed rest and relaxation in between scheduled tilts against North Carolina (3/16) and Princeton (3/20). The final road war pits Illinois against Michigan State (3/23), set to take place during the week after the Spring Break holiday.

Continuing through the season, Illinois receives a brief relief from their travels with Big Ten home contests against Wisconsin (3/29) and Northwestern (3/30), before hitting the road again against Michigan (4/4), Penn State (4/6), Indiana (4/12) and Ohio State (4/13).

Illinois then rounds out the regular season at home for senior weekend, taking on Minnesota (4/19) and Iowa (4/20), before traveling to West Lafayette, Ind., to the campus of Purdue University for the 2008 Big Ten Tournament (4/24-27).

With the Illini determined to earn a postseason berth, West Lafayette hopefully will not be the Illini's only postseason stop, as NCAA Regionals begin action on campus sites around the country May 9-11, while the NCAA Championships take place in Tulsa, Okla., May 15-24.