Illinois Women’s Tennis falls in heartbreaker to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament

Coming off their third-best regular season in program history, the Fighting Illini Women’s Tennis team looked strong coming in to the Big Ten Tournament. After an impressive sweep against Nebraska on Friday, the Illini were set to face potentially their toughest opponent in the Big Ten Tournament, the Michigan Wolverines.

After leading 3-2 in matches, the Illini dropped the final two matches 2-1, giving Michigan, the eventual champion, the victory. A win over Michigan would likely have meant a championship for the Illini, but after a valiant effort the Illini women came up just short.

The victory featured wins by Emilee Duong, Mia Rabinowitz and Jaclyn Switkes. With the freshman duo of Duong and Rabinowitz, the future is bright for the Illini. In victory, Rabinowitz secured her 13th-straight singles win.

Coming into the NCAA Tournament, the Illini women sit at 21-5 and will likely hear their name called on Tuesday afternoon. The question is where will they be seeded? The selection show will be streamed live at NCAA.com at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.