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MEN'S TENNIS

6 p.m. Friday vs. Purdue

At Atkins Tennis Center

The No. 11 Illini open their Big Ten schedule against the Boilermakers, but there will be plenty more going on this weekend at Atkins.

With the deepest roster of his four-year tenure as Illinois' head coach, Brad Dancer last week announced the addition of three dual meets to the original schedule, creating twin doubleheaders for his team.

Before the Illini face Purdue, they'll take on Detroit at 1 p.m. Friday. On Sunday, Illinois will square off against Northern Illinois at noon and St. Louis at 6:30 p.m.

All that tennis will give nonstarters like Waylon Chin, Connor Roth and Abe Souza a chance to get on the court for more than practice. Of that trio, only Chin has played during February – in one doubles match.

"This is a recognition that we have some guys very committed to their tennis games and the team and they maybe haven't seen much playing time," Dancer said. "It's a time when we can get those guys some opportunities on the weekend."

Illinois enters the weekend with a 7-3 record, including 4-3 against opponents ranked 14th or higher.

Purdue (3-5, 0-1 Big Ten) hosts No. 3 Ohio State today before visiting Atkins.

Dancer expects the Big Ten race to be more hotly contested than at any time during his five seasons at Illinois, the last four as head coach. Six Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 50 and two more in the top 60.

"It's going to be a really interesting year," Dancer said. "You have the usual players – Ohio State, us, Michigan, Wisconsin kind of snuck in there last year. But I certainly think right after that there are a tremendous amount of teams that have to feel pretty good about their ability to be near the top."

Illini of the Week

Lana Armstrong

Softball

The Rowlett, Texas, native put on an offensive show in her home state last weekend, hitting .571 and driving in 10 runs to lead Illinois to a 5-0 sweep at the Marriott Houston Classic.

Not bad for someone so weakened by an undetermined illness the weekend before that she missed three full games and part of another. Although tests for mononucleosis proved negative, Armstrong was restricted in practice during the week leading up to the trip to Houston.

But there was no reining in the resilient Illini catcher at the plate. Armstrong belted three home runs among her eight hits and slugged an astronomical 1.286. The right-handed batter capped the tournament with a 3-for-3, four-RBI performance in a 5-4 Illini victory against a No. 19 Texas A&M team that was the 2008 College World Series runner-up.

"She stepped up for us, and we needed her to do that," UI coach Terri Sullivan said. "She put up some great numbers."

Sullivan wasn't surprised Armstrong bounced back so strongly.

"The week before, she was really pretty weak," Sullivan said. "But she's a worker, and she's a very tough kid, too. Physically very tough."

Armstrong was at her best against the best. In victories against Texas A&M and No. 18 Houston, she was a combined 5 for 6 with two homers and six RBI.

"The really exciting part of it was that we were in Texas and, obviously, she's from there," Sullivan said. "She had a lot of family there, grandparents and parents, to see her."

Sullivan sees – and appreciates – more than Armstrong's bat. The Illini coach cited Armstrong's impact on a pitching staff that in Houston threw a no-hitter and a one-hitter, held three opponents to one run apiece and guided UI pitchers through tense moments in one-run victories against Texas A&M and Houston.

"Each of our pitchers had a fairly solid weekend," Sullivan said, "and so much of that is being confident to throw a lot of their pitches because (Armstrong) blocks everything and catches everything."

Next up: No. 2

If Sullivan's team can extend its winning streak against ranked opponents, it will be news from coast to coast. That's because Illinois (10-4) will face No. 2 Florida twice on the Gators' field this weekend in the Cox Communications Invitational at Gainesville, Fla.

"It's our philosophy that we look to play the best competition, and it's what our players want to do," Sullivan said. "It doesn't faze this team to play anyone because of what we've thrown at them for some time. But we've got to win some of those games as well."

As the Illini proved last weekend, they're capable, improving to 2-2 against ranked foes this season. In the process, Sullivan's team earned the attention of Top 25 voters. For the first time this year, Illinois received votes this week in the USA Today/NFCA poll.

Florida is 13-2 after shutting out No. 6 Michigan 4-0 on Wednesday in Gainesville.

Illinois opens the Cox tournament Friday with games against Texas Tech and Pacific. On Saturday, the Illini face a South Florida team they beat 6-4 on Feb. 13 on the Bulls' field. Later Saturday, Illinois plays the first of two games in as many days against Florida, a perennial power in a position to be selective with its schedule.

"We wanted to and they wanted to," Sullivan said of meeting the Gators more than once. "I view it as a compliment, the respect they have for us."

Illinois continues to cope with injuries at shortstop. Freshman Jessica Davis, who entered the winter vying with sophomore Danielle Vaji for the starting job, sustained a season-ending ACL injury in preseason practice. Then Vaji, after five starts, incurred the same injury in practice. Sophomore utility player Ashley Conrad has taken over at shortstop.

In the running

Wayne Angel foresees a "dogfight" to finish in the upper division of the Big Ten men's indoor track and field meet this weekend. The Illini coach's greyhounds likely will determine whether Angel's team is in that hunt at State College, Pa.

"I'd like a top-five finish," Angel said. "Anywhere up there would be great. We just have to be good at what we do and execute our plan."

What the Illini do best is sprint and hurdle and run relays.

Freshman Andrew Riley is ranked second in the Big Ten and 13th nationally in the 60-meter hurdles. Gakologelwang Masheto, the defending Big Ten indoor champion in the 400, is ranked third in the league and 14th in the nation in that event. The Illini 1,600 relay enters with the fastest time in the Big Ten and eighth fastest nationally. Illinois' distance medley relay is No. 3 in the conference.

"The sprints are critical for us," Angel said. "I don't want to put a lot of pressure on Riley, but if he has a great day on hurdles, it's definitely going to impact the outcome. The DMR and 1,600 (relays) are critical, and beyond that, whatever points we can come up with will be critical."

Angel expects plenty of teams to be in the mix behind Minnesota and Michigan when the two-day meet begins Saturday. A year ago, five points separated the teams that finished third through fifth.

"On paper right now, Minnesota and Michigan look like the favorites, but beyond that I think it's going to be a dogfight for the next three spots. There's so much parity among the teams that the one that makes the least mistakes and is physically and mentally prepared is going to come out smelling like a rose."

In the field events, Illini junior Greg Shroka is dealing with a hamstring injury but could be available this weekend. He's one of four high jumpers in UI history to clear 7 feet outdoors or indoors.

The Illini will be without senior Yawusa Kinda, a member of the 2008 Big Ten outdoor runner-up 1,600 relay. Kinda, who last competed in mid- January, has a hamstring injury that Angel said could sideline him until late in the outdoor season.

Looking up

As an Illini athlete, Tonja Buford-Bailey was a nine-time winner at Big Ten indoor track and field meets. This weekend, she'll work the meet for the first time as Illinois' head coach.

"We'd like to be one of the top four schools," said Buford-Bailey, who succeeded Gary Winckler at the Illini helm after five seasons as an assistant on his staff. "We were sixth last year, and I definitely think we have a better team than that this year."

Her athletes can prove Buford-Bailey right when the meet begins a two-day run Saturday at Bloomington, Ind. The Illini coach views veteran Michigan, Penn State and Minnesota teams as the class of the conference. After that, Buford-Bailey thinks her talented-but-youthful group can be in the next tier.

"Our biggest downside is that we're really young as opposed to the other three teams that function off of their seniors," she said.

Top Illini hopefuls include junior Aja Evans, who leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally in the shot put; junior Angela Bizzarri, who is third in the league and 10th in the nation in the 3,000; and a 1,600 relay that enters with the fastest time in the conference.

Look for Tamika Robinson to be a key UI performer, too. The sophomore ranks third in the 60 and is tied for fifth in the 60 hurdles among Big Ten athletes. And the 400 could be a big point producer for Illinois. Three of the seven fastest Big Ten runners in that event, including freshman Ryisha Boyd, wear orange and blue.

Buford-Bailey says her roster's full potential won't be apparent until the outdoor season, when the lineup of events is different.

"We're definitely a better team outdoors with the 400 hurdles and 4 by 100 (relay) and steeplechase, but we still want to be as solid as we can be indoors," she said.

Stepping up

The Illini hockey team's five best players are in China, skating for the U.S. University Select Team in the Winter World University Games.

That doesn't mean Chad Cassel's bunch can't be a handful, as Iowa State learned last weekend at the UI Ice Arena. Needing to win one of two games against Illinois to clinch the Central States Collegiate Hockey League title, an Iowa State team with three of its own players in China went 0-2 against Illinois.

"We had a good weekend," said Cassel, whose team halted a four-game slide and finished third in the CSCHL. "Our power play isn't quite where we need it to be, but it got much better."

Cassel hopes that trend continues this weekend, when the defending champion Illini head to the CSCHL tournament in Dearborn, Mich. Illinois (24-8) opens the three-day, single-elimination event at 1:30 p.m. Friday against Robert Morris.

"We're on a little bit of a roll going into the tournament," Cassel said.

The Illini were without Team USA members Jordan Pringle, Johnny Liang, JJ Heredia, Brad Hoelzer and Pierce Butler for their last four regular season games, and that won't change this weekend. Their absence has forced Cassel to test this team's depth.

"I thought it would be a great opportunity to see some players that haven't played very much this year," he said. "I've seen a lot of good things. We still have the ability to win the tournament, even though those five guys aren't here. To do that, we're going to have to put our best game together."

The number

13-2

The Illini wrestling team's final record in dual meets. The victory total ties for the fourth most in the program's history.

The list

Swimmer Marissa Clapp set three school records last weekend during the Big Ten Championships at Ann Arbor, Mich., and moved up on all-time Illini lists in two other events. Where the former Bismarck-Henning standout ranks among the UI's top 10 fastest individuals:

EVENT RANK TIME 200 breaststroke 1 2:12.95

200 IM 1 2:00.03

400 IM 1 4:13.85

100 breaststroke 4 1:03.40

50 breaststroke 6 30.28

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