Badgers turn to Big Ten action at Illinois

Friday, February 20

Urbana-Champaign, IL

5 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

Illinois

Photo by: Suvir Grover

Badgers turn to Big Ten action at Illinois

February 19, 2026 | Women's Tennis

Wisconsin travels to Champaign to open conference play

By: Aliza Manekia

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin women's tennis turns its focus to conference action this weekend, opening Big Ten play on the road against Illinois on Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. CT.

1. The Last Time Out
Wisconsin closed out its Arkansas road trip with back-to-back wins, opening the weekend with a 4-1 victory over Arkansas before sweeping Kansas, 4-0. Maria Sholokhova delivered one of the weekend's biggest moments with a ranked upset over No. 22 Carolina Gomez Alonso, setting the tone early for the Badgers. Wisconsin followed with a strong showing against Kansas, where Parker Christensen sealed the team victory at No. 6 singles with a straight-set win to complete the weekend sweep.

2. Scouting the Illini
Illinois enters the matchup with a 3-5 record, coming off a 4-3 road win at Iowa State. The Illini dropped the doubles point but rallied in singles, powered by wins across the No. 4 to No. 6 singles spots, with Tess Bucher, Cara Mester, and Lizzie Isyanov securing key victories and Isyanov clinching the match in three sets.

3. Matchup by the Numbers
Wisconsin holds a 29-24 advantage in the all-time series against Illinois. The Badgers' most recent win came last season, when they defeated the Illini at home, 4-1.

4. Projected Lineups
Doubles
No. 1 - Maria Sholokhova and Lucie Urbanova
No. 2 - Ekaterina Ivanova and Ellison Reynoldson
No. 3 - Tianna Rangan and Kaede Usui

Singles
No. 1 - Maria Sholokhova
No. 2 - Ekaterina Ivanova
No. 3 - Tianna Rangan
No. 4 - Ellison Reynoldson
No. 5 - Kaja Jacobson
No. 6 - Kaede Usui

5. Up Next
Wisconsin returns to Nielsen Tennis Stadium for a West Coast weekend, hosting UCLA on Friday, March 6, before facing USC on Sunday, March 8, at 12 p.m.