WACO, Texas – A trio of Fighting Illini earned singles wins Saturday in Waco, Texas, but No. 25 Baylor would come away with the 4-3 victory over the Illinois women's tennis team. Senior McKenna Schaefbauer won her second match in as many days, this time coming as an upset of No. 40 Na Dong from Baylor.
After facing a pair of ranked opponents on the road during opening weekend, Illinois is 0-2 on the young season.
The No. 25-ranked Bears got on the board first in their season opener, clinching the hard-fought doubles point. First action off the courts was No. 1 doubles, featuring a ranked matched between No. 60 Tess Bucher and Alice Xu and Baylor's No. 61-ranked Na Dong and Zuzanna Kubacha. The Bears' tandem claimed the 6-2 decision on the top court. At No. 3 doubles, Illinois' Cara Mester and Ariel Madatali picked up a 6-3 victory after breaking out of a 3-3 tie. BU would claim the opening point with a 7-5 win at No. 2 doubles.
Baylor doubles its lead with a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles before going up 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 5 a moment later. The Bears would clinch the match at 4-0 with the 6-1, 6-2 decision at No. 2 singles before the remaining matches were played out – all finishing in favor of the Illini.
Alice Xu got the Orange and Blue on the scoreboard with a dominant 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles where she would never trail. The victory marked her first of the dual season as the junior improved to 2-2 overall in 2025-26.
Ariel Madatali secured her win next, earning a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles, where she would never trail. With the win, the sophomore earned her first dual victory of the season and improved to 8-5 on the season, marking her third straight win dating back to the fall.
From there, all eyes turned to Schaefbauer who won the third-set superbreaker 10-7 to secure a 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7) upset of No. 40 Na Dong. The triumph marked the highest-ranked win of Schaefbauer's career and the eighth ranked victory overall. The senior is now 2-0 on the dual campaign and owns an 11-5 record on the season.
NEXT WEEKEND
The Fighting Illini will host their first two matches in Atkins Tennis Center of the dual season from Jan. 24-25. Miami (OH) is slated for an 11 a.m. CT contest on Saturday, Jan. 24, followed by a tilt with Xavier on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 12 p.m.
NO. 25 BAYLOR (1-0) 4, ILLINOIS (0-2) 3
Doubles:
1 – No. 61 Na Dong/Zuzanna Kubacha (Baylor) def. No. 60 Tess Bucher/Alice Xu – 6-2
2 – Kennedy Gibbs/Alian Zach (Baylor) def. McKenna Schaefbauer/Kimiko Cooper – 7-5
3 – Cara Mester/Ariel Madatali def. Neda Rahimkhani/Gabrielle Villegas (Baylor) – 6-3
Singles:
1 – McKenna Schaefbauer def. No. 40 Na Dong (Baylor) – 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)
2 – No. 57 Zuzanna Kubacha (Baylor) def. Kimiko Cooper – 6-1, 6-2
3 – Kennedy Gibbs (Baylor) def. Tess Bucher – 6-4, 6-0
4 – Ariel Madatali def. Alian Zach (Baylor) – 6-3, 6-1
5 – No. 99 Mu-Jie Tzeng (Baylor) def. Lizzie Isyanov – 6-2, 6-3
6 – Alice Xu def. Gabrielle Villegas (Baylor) – 6-4, 6-0
Order of finish:
Doubles: 1, 3, 2
Singles: 3, 5, 2, 6, 4, 1
Duration: 2:27
Attendance: 150
