Illini Open Up Four-Match Homestand with Michigan, Michigan State

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini women's tennis is back at Atkins Tennis Center this weekend to host conference foes No. 17 Michigan and No. 75 Michigan State. The Illini kick off the weekend vs. the Wolverines on Saturday at 11 a.m. followed by a match at the same time on Sunday against the Spartans.

No. 54 Illinois continues its conference slate standing on a 5-2 record in Big Ten play and a deceptive 9-8 record in dual-play, with six losses coming to top-25 ranked opponents. The Fighting Illini have won five of their last seven matches and come off a split weekend in the Pacific Northwest, beating No. 53 Oregon but falling at No. 20 Washington.

Senior McKenna Schaefbauer, ranked the No. 39 singles player by ITA, was red hot in March, finishing the month with a 6-1 record at No. 1 singles in eight matches. Four of her victories came in straight sets and two clinched matches for the Illini. 

No. 18 Michigan has a 10-5 record on the season with 7-1 marks in conference play. The Wolverines are hot on a seven-match win streak featuring victories over No. 10 UCLA and No. 8 USC. Michigan hosts No. 3 Ohio State on Wednesday.

Michigan State sits at .500 on the year with a 9-9 record, including a 2-6 conference record on the year. The Spartans travel to Urbana for Sunday's tilt after opening the weekend at Northwestern.

Following this weekend's action, Illinois will conclude its home slate by hosting UCLA (April 10) and USC (April 12).

RANKING NOTES

• Illinois
  • Team Ranking – 54
  • Singles Rankings
    • No. 39 - McKenna Schaefbauer
  • Doubles Rankings
    • N/A
• Michigan
  • Team Ranking – 17
  • Singles Rankings
    • No. 6 - Piper Charney
    • No. 22 - Lily Jones
    • No. 112 - Reese Miller
  • Doubles Rankings
    • No. 37 - Lily Jones/Jessica Bernales
    • No. 76 - Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde
• Michigan State
  • Team Ranking – 75
  • Singles Rankings
    • N/A
  • Doubles Rankings
    • No. 43 - Matilde Morais/Ellie Blackford

1. Jan. 24 vs. Miami (OH) - #2 Schaefbauer/Cooper and #3 Mester/Madatali
2. Feb. 2 vs. DePaul - #2 Schaefbauer/Cooper and #3 Mester/Madatali
3. March 2 vs. Kansas City - #1 Bucher/Xu and #2 Madatali/Schaefbauer
4. March 6 at Nebraska - #1 Bucher/Xu and #2 Madatali/Mester
5. March 21 vs. Purdue - #2 Bucher/Xu and #3 Cooper/Madatali
6. March 27 at Oregon - #2 Mester/Xu and #3 Cooper/Madatali

1. Jan. 24 vs. Miami (OH) - #1 McKenna Schaefbauer - 6-3, 6-4
2. Feb. 2 vs. DePaul - #3 Ariel Madatali - 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
3. Feb. 13 at Iowa State - #5 Lizzie Isyanov - 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. March 2 vs. Kansas City - #1 McKenna Schaefbauer - 6-3, 6-1
5. March 6 at Nebraska - #1 McKenna Schaefbauer - 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
6. March 14 vs. Northwestern - #3 Ariel Madatali - 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
7. March 21 vs. Purdue - #5 Alice Xu - 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
8. March 22 vs. Indiana - #5 Alice Xu - 6-2, 7-5
9. March 27 at Oregon - #2 Kimiko Cooper - 2-6, 6-4, 6-3

• For the first time of her career, Fighting Illini senior McKenna Schaefbauer was named the Big Ten Women's Tennis Player of the Week, the league office announced follow Illinois' opening weekend of play. The Normal, Illinois, native produced a 2-0 opening weekend that saw her earn the highest-ranked win of her career with a victory over the No. 40-ranked player in the country.
• McKenna Schaefbauer picked up her second ranked singles win of the season on Feb. 20 when Illinois hosted Wisconsin. The Illini senior earned a straight-set upset of No. 14 Maria Sholokhova at No. 1 singles.
• In the March 3 ITA singles rankings, McKenna Schaefbauer earned a No. 34 reading - the highest of her career.
• Schaefbauer climbed again in the March 17 ITA singles rankings, reaching a new career-best at No. 29. 
• During the preseason, Fighting Illini sophomore Ariel Madatali was named to the 2026 Big Ten Women's Tennis Players to Watch List. The St. Louis native is headed into her second dual season with the Orange and Blue. Madatali is one of 18 athletes named to the Players to Watch List.
• Illinois' 2026 slate features at least 11 matches against squads that appeared in the 2025 NCAA Team Tournament.
• The Fighting Illini faced two top-25 ranked opponents during opening weekend (No. 21 Pepperdine, No. 25 Baylor) and followed that up with three more ranked matches while hosting the ITA Team Indoor National Championship (No. 3 North Carolina, No. 7 Duke, No. 12 Vanderbilt). Illinois faced its sixth top-25 team at No. 20 Washington on March 29.
• From Feb. 6-10, the Illini co-hosted the ITA National Indoor Team Championships with Northwestern. As an event host, Illinois was guaranteed three matches in the event and does not have to qualify through ITA Kickoff Weekend. Besides Illinois and Northwestern, the remaining 14 teams qualified by winning two matches at their respective ITA Kickoff Weekend sites.
• Illinois added a pair of SEC transfers heading into this season. Tess Bucher (Kentucky) and Cara Mester (Oklahoma) both enter their sophomore seasons at Illinois.
• The Fighting Illini freshman class ranked No. 14 nationally by Tennis Recruiting Network. Risa Ueno (No. 14), Lizzie Isyanov (No. 37), and Kimiko Cooper (No. 18) make up the 2025-26 newcomers.
• In the 2026 Tennis Recruiting Network class rankings, Illinois ranked No. 20 overall and third in the Big Ten. Evan Clark has now had back-to-back ranked classes for the first time in his career and Clark has now brought in five top-25 recruiting classes overall.
• Head coach Evan Clark is in his 11th year as the head coach of Illinois women's tennis, holds an overall dual record of 156-108 (.591), and is 79-38 (.675) in Big Ten play during his time as an Illini. Including his time as the head coach at UNC-Wilmington, Clark owns a 187-119 (.611) record overall.
• Illinois has made the NCAA Tournament in three-straight seasons for the first time under Clark and third time in program history. The 2024-25 season's appearance marked the fifth with Clark at the helm.
• Across program history, Illinois has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 16 times and owns a 5-16 all-time record.
• Illinois owns an 86-36 (.705) record when playing at home under Evan Clark (begins 2016 dual season).

RECORDS