Chambana Sun

All eight members of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini women's tennis team competed at the Nebraska Invite held in Lincoln, Nebraska, from September 26 to 28. The event included teams ranked No. 60 Wichita State, No. 65 Iowa State, No. 69 Kansas State, Missouri, and host Nebraska.

Throughout the weekend, Illinois players achieved several notable results in both singles and doubles matches. Tess Bucher and Alice Xu paired together for a perfect 4-0 record in doubles play over the three days. In singles competition, McKenna Schaefbauer, Lizzie Isyanov, and Risa Ueno each finished undefeated with a 3-0 record.

Friday's matches saw victories from Schaefbauer/Mester and Seccia/Madatali in doubles against Missouri pairs. Bucher/Xu also posted wins against Iowa State and Kansas State duos on the same day. In singles play Friday, Schaefbauer defeated Theodora Chantava (Wichita St.) while Madatali won against MJ Brumfield (Missouri). Isyanov advanced after her opponent retired due to injury.

On Saturday, Illinois continued their performance with more wins in doubles from Isyanov/Ueno and Schaefbauer/Mester against teams from Missouri and Iowa State respectively. Bucher/Xu secured additional victories versus Nebraska and Wichita State opponents.

In Saturday’s singles action, Schaefbauer overcame Maria Taranova (Nebraska) in straight sets while Bucher recorded a win over Catherine Gagnon (Nebraska). Cara Mester also notched a victory against Natalia Trigosso (Nebraska), as did Isyanov versus Yuzu Miyoshi (Nebraska).

The tournament concluded Sunday with further individual successes: Ueno defeated Mallory Renfro (Kansas State) without dropping a game; Schaefbauer beat Diana Smolinska (Kansas State); Madatali overcame Anne Knuettel (Wichita St.), among other wins by Illinois athletes.

Illinois players demonstrated strong performances throughout the invite both as individuals and as part of doubles teams across all three days of competition.