PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Fighting Illini opened their final road trip of the regular season with a win at Rutgers on Friday. In the longest match of the season due to a rain delay, Illinois tallied four wins on the singles courts after the Scarlet Knights won the doubles point to open play.
Illinois improved to 11-12 overall with the win and now owns a 6-6 record in league play this season. Rutgers moved to 8-14 overall and 1-11 in Big Ten matches with Friday's result. The Fighting Illini now lead the all-time series against the Scarlet Knights, 11-0.
Lizzie Isyanov and Cara Mester were the first off the doubles courts with a 6-0 win at No. 3. The duo is now 4-2 when teaming up. Rutgers would take the remaining two doubles decisions to earn the first point of the match.
Near the end of the first sets of singles play, rain set in and forced a delay in the action. After over an hour, play resumed outdoors and Illinois secured the first set on all six courts.
McKenna Schaefbauer was the first off the singles courts, earning a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 1 to even the match score at 1-1. Schaefbauer improved her record to 22-10 overall, 13-6 in dual play, and 8-4 in Big Ten tilts.
Mester pushed the Illini in front, 2-1, by earning a 6-3, 6-4 straight set win at No. 5 to even the match score at 1-1. Mester improved to 16-5 overall, 10-3 in dual play, and 6-2 in Big Ten matches with the win.
Kimiko Cooper pushed the Illini advantage to 3-1 as she secured a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 2. The January enrollee climbed to 9-10 overall and 4-4 in league play.
Tess Bucher earned a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 victory at No. 4 singles to secure the win for Illinois and record her first clinch in the orange and blue. Bucher is now 7-13 overall, 6-10 in dual play and 3-6 in conference showings.
Action at No. 3 and 6 was abandoned.Â
NEXT UP
Illinois will wrap up regular season play on the road at No. 45 Maryland on Sunday with first serve slated for 10 a.m. CT.
#58 ILLINOIS (11-12, 6-6 B1G) 4, RUTGERS (8-14, 1-11 B1G) 1
Doubles:
1 - Nguyen/Frankowska (RU) def. No. 65 Tess Bucher/Alice Xu (ILL) - 6-4
2 - Jumazhanova/Ilker (RU) def. McKenna Schaefbauer/Ariel Madatali (ILL) - 6-4
3 - Cara Mester/Lizzie Isyanov (ILL) def. Schmitz/Case (RU) - 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles:Â
1 - No. 57 McKenna Schaefbauer (ILL) def. Mai Nguyen (RU) - 6-3, 6-2
2 - Kimiko Cooper (ILL) def. Zuzanna Frankowska (RU) - 6-4, 6-2
3 - Ariel Madatali (ILL) vs. Karina Jumazhanova (RU) - 6-0, 1-6, 4-3, unfinished
4 - Tess Bucher (ILL) def. Zeynep Ilker (RU) - 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
5 - Cara Mester (ILL) def. Naomi Karki (RU) - 6-3, 6-4
6 - Lizzie Isyanov (ILL) vs. Savannah Cohen (RU) - 6-2, 1-6, 2-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 5, 2, 4
Duration: 4:46 // Rain delay
Played outdoors
