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Junior Megan Fudge and the third-seeded Illini travel to the 2009 Big Ten Tournament.
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April 22, 2009
Complete 2009 Big Ten Tournament Notes in PDF Format 
#34 Illinois at 2009 Big Ten Tournament
April 23-26, 2009 (Madison, Wisc.)
Quarterfinals // April 24 // Illinois vs. Match 2 Winner // 2 p.m. CT
Semifinals - April 25
Finals - April 26
FOR OPENERS
Wisconsin will play host to the 2009 Big Ten Women's Tennis Tournament this weekend with matches beginning on Thursday, April 23, and continuing through Sunday, April 26.
The opening day of the tournament will feature six schools with No. 8 Minnesota and No. 9 Penn State kicking off the opening round at 9 a.m. CT. Sixth-seed Purdue will then battle No. 11 Michigan State at noon CT. To conclude the opening round, No. 7 Wisconsin will battle No. 10 Iowa, slated for a 3 p.m. CT start.
Each of the top five seeds receives a first-round bye and will start tournament play on Friday. Top-seed Northwestern, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Illinois will play the winners of Thursday's matches. No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Indiana will face off in the other quarterfinal match.
In all, 10 Big Ten athletes are ranked in the ITA top-125 singles, five pairs rank in the top-65 doubles and five teams fall in the top-50.
The Championship Final will be televised by the Big Ten Network, and will air tape-delayed on Sunday, May 3 at 3 p.m. CT.
STATE OF THE ILLINI
The Illini (17-6, 8-2) maintained their position in the Campbell/Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls, topping the charts this week at No. 34. Junior Megan Fudge leads the Illini, coming in at No. 77 in the most recent polls, while Redshirt-sophomore Leigh Finnegan held on at No. 123 in singles.
The Illini will face the winner of the #6 Purdue/#11 Michigan State match in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Big Ten Tournament on Friday, April 24 at 2 p.m.
FUDGE BIG TEN PLAYER OF WEEK
Junior Megan Fudge was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the week ending April 12, the conference office announced on Tuesday, April 14. Fudge led the Illini charge with two key conference wins over Ohio State and Penn State. Fudge went 3-0 in singles and 2-1 in doubles over the course of the week of April 6-12.
The Illini junior began the week with an upset win over 35th-ranked Kelcy Tefft of No. 4 Notre Dame. The 108th-ranked Fudge was almost unstoppable in her comeback in the second and third sets at No. 1 singles, taking the match 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (11-9) for the victory. Fudge notched another win in No. 36-ranked Illinois' hard-fought, 5-2 triumph over the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Kaarst, Germany native battled hard at No.1 singles, pulling through for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Ohio State's Kirsten Flower. Fudge rounded out the week with a dominating straight sets' 6-2, 6-1 win over Penn State's Denisa Zobeideh at No. 2 singles. The victory over Zobeideh was Fudge's 25th overall singles victory of the season, the most wins she has recorded in a single season at Illinois in her career. In dual matches, Fudge is 20-3.
2008 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP
The Illinois women's tennis team won its second straight upset over the No. 34 Ohio State Buckeyes, 4-3 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals last season. The Illini fell behind early after losing the doubles point, but key wins from the singles lineup, including a clinching victory from sophomore Kristina Minor at No. 5 singles - her fifth of the season - proved to be the final dagger. The triumph propeled Illinois into the Big Ten semifinals for the first time since 2003 where they faced No. 1-seeded and ranked Northwestern.
The Illini were unable to keep the momentum going as they fell to the No. 1 Northwestern Wildcats, 4-0, in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals in West Lafayette at the Schwartz Tennis Center. The Illini were never able to gain footing in the tough matchup, as they dropped the doubles point, and despite fights at all six singles spots, let three straight matches get away from them as they ended their Big Ten postseason with a record of 12-10 overall.
IN THE BOOKS - ILLINOIS VS. PURDUE - REGULAR SEASON
The Illinois women traveled to Purdue on March 8 and defeated the Boilermakers 4-3 for their second straight conference win. The Illini started the match by clinching the doubles point with wins from doubles team Chelcie Abajian and Marisa Lambropoulos, as well as Annie McCarthy and Amy Allin. In singles, Leigh Finnegan, Amy Allin, and Marisa Lambropoulos racked up victories to capture the win for the Illini.
IN THE BOOKS - ILLINOIS VS. MICHIGAN STATE MATCH
Illinois dominated Michigan State at home on April 18, beating the Spartans 7-0. The Illini won every match at both singles and doubles. In singles, every match was won in straight sets. This was Illinois' eighth conference win on the season, and locked up a third place finish in the Big Ten for the Orange and Blue.
ATTENDANCE LEADERS
The 2009 ITA attendance race is on and the Illini women are among the leaders in the second annual race. The Illini women came in fourth for the average attendance in the month of March, as 147 faithful fans attended the Illini match versus Indiana; when the Illini took a 5-2 win over the Hoosiers.
UP NEXT
After the Big Ten Tournament, the Illini will learn their NCAA Championships fate on the selection show on April 28 at 4:20 p.m. CT.
2009 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 23
No. 8 Minnesota vs. No. 9 Penn State . . . . . . . . . . . .9 a.m. CT
No. 6 Purdue vs. No. 11 Michigan State . . . . . . . . . . .Noon CT
No. 7 Wisconsin vs. No. 10 Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 p.m. CT
Friday, April 24
No. 1 Northwestern vs. No. 8/9 winner . . . . . . . . . .10 a.m. CT
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 a.m. CT
No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 6/11 winner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 p.m.
CT
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 7/10 winner . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 25
Semifinal #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 a.m. CT
Semifinal #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 p.m. CT
Sunday, April 26
Championship Final . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Noon CT
