Chambana Sun

The Illinois women's tennis team, ranked 24th nationally, is set to compete in the 76th annual Blue Gray Tennis Classic in Montgomery, Alabama. The event will take place over two days from February 23 to 24. The Fighting Illini will face Tulsa in their opening match on Friday at 9 a.m., followed by doubles matches against either Arizona or Alabama, depending on the results. On Saturday, they will complete singles play against Arizona or Alabama and finish with a third contest later that day.

Illinois enters the tournament with a four-match winning streak and holds a season record of 7-2. Recent victories include wins over Brown and Marshall last weekend. "The Illini went 8-0 in completed singles matches across the weekend," according to recent performance reports.

Friday's match against Tulsa marks the first encounter between these programs. Illinois has historical records of 1-6 against No. 43 Arizona and 2-7 against No. 36 Alabama, although they defeated both teams at last year's Blue Gray Tennis Classic.

Several players have been highlighted for their contributions this season. Junior Kida Ferrari, originally from Fairhope, Alabama, will be playing on familiar courts during this tournament. Kasia Treiber was recently named Big Ten Women's Tennis Player of the Week after an undefeated weekend at No. 3 singles.

Head coach Evan Clark leads the team into his ninth year with an overall dual record of 122-79 (.607) and a Big Ten record of 58-28 (.674). Last season, Illinois finished with an impressive record of 18-10 and participated in the NCAA Team Tournament for the third time under Clark's leadership.

After concluding their matches in Alabama, Illinois will return home to host Washington on March 1 at Atkins Tennis Center.