The women's tennis team lacked killer instinct in three matches against Illinois, which, unfortunately, is nothing new. The problem plagued the women in the fall and remains a major concern for coach Jody Bronson.Illinois executed down the stretch and took an easy home victory 6-1 on Friday. The Illini swept the doubles matches 3-0 with Brianna Knue and Macall Harkins setting the tone at the No. 1 spot in a 9-7 victory over Marquette sophomore Maria Calbeto and freshman Lauren Little.
Marquette fell short in another close match when the No. 3 doubles team of Erin Watkins and Andrea Bukacek lost 9-8 (2) to Illinois' Shivani Dave and Alejandra Meza Cuadra.
In singles, No. 1 Maria Calbeto was the lone victor for the Eagles, avenging her doubles loss to Harkins in a comeback three-set victory: 2-6, 7-6 (5), 13-11.
In the team's third potentially winable match, junior Francina Bonnelly led Illinois' Emily Wang at No. 4 singles before losing a close three-set match, 5-7, 6-1, 10-8.
The team's inability to close out tight matches is something Bronson addressed during the fall season on a number of occasions.
"You get to a certain point, you see improvement in practices, and that's all good," she had said. "You've got to play entire matches. You can't have one good set, and then go flat."
Bronson is by far the longest tenured coach at Marquette, starting her 20th spring season. She has compiled a 260-195 record, has won three conference championships and has led her players to three NCAA tournaments.
However, the team has struggled mightily since 2000. The numbers are staggeringly poor (a 28-64 record) in that time.
The team seemed to improve from last year, hovering around the .500 mark in fall play. But the results against the No. 54-ranked Fighting Illini show the effects of having a young team. Marquette doesn't have a single senior on its roster, and young teams characteristically cannot close out tight matches.
The Golden Eagles will look to improve on their performance when they face Iowa Friday night in Iowa City.