Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's tennis team defeated the Indiana Hoosiers, 5-2 on Friday night at the Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois snapped Indiana's seven-match winning streak to improve to 3-2 overall this season and 1-0 in Big Ten play.

The Hoosiers jumped to an early lead on Friday night. Cembellin and Lugonjic defeated freshman Vuk Budic and redshirt-senior Alex Jesse, 6-4 on court two. Junior Aleks Vukic and freshman Aleks Kovacevic earned their first doubles win of the season with a 7-5 win on court three over Indiana's Crane and Brodney. Indiana clinched the doubles point on court as the No. 31-ranked tandem of Manji and Tabrizi defeated freshman Gui Gomes and junior Aron Hiltzik, 7-5.

In singles play, Hiltzik was the first off the court with a quick, 6-1, 6-3 victory on over Keivon Tabrizi. Vukic was next off the court after defeating Raheel Manji, 6-1, 7-6(0). Illinois took a 3-1 advantage as Kovacevic earned the 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 victory on court five.

Indiana would regain a point after Bennett Crane defeated freshman Zeke Clark, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 on court six. In the end, redshirt-senior Julian Childers clinched the match with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 win on court four. Gomes and Cembellin finished out their match as the Illini freshman once again earned a three-set win, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to complete the evening.

Up next, Illinois will embark on a three-day, three-match road trip to South Bend, Ind. and then to Charlottesville, Va. The Illini will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. The Orange and Blue will compete in a doubleheader on Tuesday against William & Mary at 10 a.m. and then against the No. 1-ranked Virginia Cavaliers at 4 p.m.

Head Coach Brad Dancer's Thoughts

"You have to give Indiana a lot of credit. I think Jeremy and Mike are doing an incredible job with that program and they are going to be a good team in the Big Ten in the future. So, hats off to them. Having said that, I think we could have prepared our team a little bit better for today. We have a big stretch coming up and I think that was in the back of our minds with our preparation this week. I just felt like overall, it was maybe not our best performance, but when it got tough, we had some guys pull through and get the win. Again, we were led by Aron (Hiltzik) and Vuki (Aleks Vukic) up top and I give a lot of credit to our guys and Marcos (Asse) does a phenomenal job in coaching these guys. He's been coach of the year in my book."

Final Results

#17 Illinois 5, Indiana 2

Doubles-Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1

1. #31 Manji/Tabrizi (Indiana) def. Gomes/Hiltzik (Illinois) 7-5
2. Cembellin/Lugonjic (Indiana) def. Budic/Jesse (Illinois) 6-4
3. Kovacevic/Vukic (Illinois) def. Crane/Brodney (Indiana) 7-5

Singles-Order of Finish: 2, 1, 5, 6, 4*, 3

1. #31 Aleks Vukic (Illinois) def. Raheel Manji (Indiana) 6-1, 7-6(0)
2. #21 Aron Hiltzik (Illinois) def. Keivon Tabrizi (Indiana) 6-1, 6-3
3. Gui Gomes (Illinois) def. Antonio Cembellin (Indiana) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
4. Julian Childers (Illinois) def. Matthew McCoy (Indiana) 6-2, 5-7, 6-1
5. #123 Aleks Kovacevic (Illinois) def. Oliver Sec (Indiana) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
6. Bennett Crane (Indiana) def. Zeke Clark (Illinois) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4

Records: Illinois (3-2, 1-0), Indiana (7-1, 0-1)

Attendance: 421

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