The University of Illinois Fighting Illini women’s tennis team defeated Bradley University with a 4-0 sweep on Apr. 14, closing out its home schedule for the 2025-26 season at Atkins Tennis Center.
This win brings Illinois to a record of 10-12 overall and extends their all-time series lead over Bradley to 12-0. The result highlights the team’s performance in NCAA Division I competition, as noted by the official website.
Illinois secured the doubles point, marking their eighth doubles point this season and second consecutive. McKenna Schaefbauer and Ariel Madatali earned a quick victory at No. 2 doubles with a score of 6-2, while Tess Bucher and Alice Xu won their first match back as a ranked pair (No. 65) at No.1 doubles with a dominant 6-1 result.
In singles play, Cara Mester gave Illinois an early advantage by winning her match at No.5 singles (6-0, 6-1), improving her personal record to 15-5 this year. Bucher followed with another win at No.4 singles (6-1, 6-3), bringing her dual play wins to five for the season. Freshman Kimiko Cooper clinched the overall victory for Illinois by winning her first appearance at No.1 singles (6-2, 6-2), raising her dual play record to eight wins.
According to the official website, the Fighting Illini women’s tennis program competes within both NCAA Division I and the Big Ten Conference as part of University of Illinois athletics in Champaign, Illinois.
With their home matches concluded for this season—where they posted a record of seven wins from fifteen contests—the team will finish regular-season play on the road against Rutgers on April 17 and Maryland on April 19.
