Chambana Sun

The Illinois women's tennis team faced a challenging match against Iowa in Iowa City, resulting in a 4-2 defeat. Despite an early lead, Illinois could not maintain their advantage over the No. 75 ranked Hawkeyes.

Ranked No. 34, Illinois now holds a season record of 10-6 and stands at 2-1 in Big Ten play. Meanwhile, Iowa improved to 8-6 overall and remains undefeated in conference matches with a 3-0 record.

Illinois secured its tenth doubles point of the season during this match, marking four consecutive victories in the opening segment. Although Iowa claimed victory at No. 1 doubles, the Illini's No. 3 duo, McKenna Schaefbauer and Kasia Treiber, achieved a decisive 6-4 win. The pair remains unbeaten with a 3-0 record in dual matches.

In another closely contested doubles match, Kida Ferrari and Josie Frazier managed to secure their win after trailing initially. They eventually forced a tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles and emerged victorious by winning five consecutive points.

Alice Xu contributed significantly to Illinois' initial lead by winning her third straight singles match at No. 6 singles with scores of 6-2, 6-4.

However, Iowa staged a comeback by winning singles matches on courts four through one consecutively to clinch the overall victory. Kida Ferrari's match at No. 5 singles was left unfinished as play was stopped during the third set.

Looking ahead, Illinois will continue their road trip with a visit to Nebraska on Sunday for an encounter scheduled at the Dillon Tennis Center in Lincoln. Nebraska currently has a season record of 9-5 but is yet to secure a win in league play.