Box Score 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois men's tennis fell to No. 7-ranked North Carolina, 5-2 on Saturday night at the Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois moves to 2-2 this season.

UNC earned the early advantage in the match after securing the doubles point. Kelly and Blumberg defeated freshman Gui Gomes and junior Aron Hiltzik, 6-3. North Carolina clinched the point on court two as No. 43-ranked Murray and Schnieder edged redshirt-senior Alex Jesse and freshman Vuk Budic, 6-4.

Junior Aleks Vukic got the Illini on the board with a quick 6-4, 6-2 victory over William Blumberg on court one. Gomes gave Illinois a 2-1 advantage after defeating Soendergaard on court three, 6-3, 6-4. UNC would tie the match when Kelly earned the match victory over Childers on court four.

UNC quickly regained the lead and clinched the match on courts five and six. Freshman Zeke Clark fell to No. 57 Josh Peck, 7-6(3), 6-3 and Murray clinched the victory on five with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over freshman Aleks Kovacevic. Hiltzik and Schneider decided to continue play on court two. The No. 38-ranked Schneider outlasted Hiltzik to give UNC the 5-2 win over the Illini.

Up next, Illinois will face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten opener next Friday night at Atkins Tennis Center. First serve is slated for 6 p.m.

Head Coach Brad Dancer's Thoughts

"It's hard because we talk about team and group things, but it is really an individual sport. For us, we have individuals who are starting to play better in doubles. We just need to get one or two guys to spark that and make a difference. Starting every match down 1-0 is not great, but then we are showing we have great resiliency. We come out in singles and it looks like we are about to roll in the first six sets. We lose two but we take the other four. We had a tremendous amount of momentum on our side and at that point, you have to give a lot of credit to North Carolina. They are on the road. They are playing in front of our crowd and they are able to fight and claw back into matches, where we had them down. We had all of these things that were up and had the chance to put them away, but we didn't do that. When that happens, you have to give a lot of credit to the opponents. North Carolina did a great job tonight.

Final Results

#7 UNC 5, #17 Illinois 2  

Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 2*

1. Kelly/ Blumberg (UNC) def. Gomes/ Hiltzik (Illinois) 6-3
2. #43 Murray/Schneider (UNC) def. Jesse/Budic (Illinois) 6-4
3. Kovacevic/Vukic (Illinois) vs. Soendergaard/Boyden (UNC) 5-4, unf.

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

1. Aleks Vukic (Illinois) def. William Blumberg (UNC) 6-4, 6-2
2. #38 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. #29 Aron Hiltzik (Illinois) 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(2)
3. #100 Gui Gomes (Illinois) def. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) 6-3, 6-4
4. Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Julian Childers (Illinois) 7-6(5), 6-1
5. Jack Murray (UNC) def. #85 Aleks Kovacevic (Illinois) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. #57 Josh Peck (UNC) def. Zeke Clark (Illinois) 7-6(3), 6-3

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