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CHAPEL HILL, N.C.  – The Fighting Illini men's tennis team advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals with a 4-0 sweep of the TCU Horned Frogs. Illinois has opened the 2018 NCAA Tournament with three-straight sweeps and moves on to the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2007. 

In doubles play, senior Aleks Vukic and sophomore Vuk Budic were first off the court with a 6-4 win at the No. 3 position. TCU responded with a 6-3 win on court two. The Illini freshmen, Alex Brown and Caleb Chakravarthi, clinched the point, 9-7 in a tiebreak to top TCU's No. 6-ranked Nunez and Rybakov.

Singles started with the Illini taking the first six sets. Chakravarthi defeated Kurzban, 6-0, 6-4 to open a 2-0 lead for Illinois. Senior Aron Hiltzik earned a 6-2, 7-5 victory on court three. Sophomore Aleks Kovacevic sealed the match with an ace and a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 win at the No. 4 position.

Illinois will now take on No. 1 Wake Forest in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Sunday. First serve is scheduled for 4 pm ET/3 pm CT.

Illini Notes

• Illinois made its 16^th appearance in the NCAA Round of 16.
• Illinois and TCU met in the NCAA Round of 16 for the second-straight season.
• Illinois advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the seventh time in program history (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2018).
• Illinois has opened the NCAA Tournament with three-straight sweeps for the first time in program history.
• Illinois improves to 49-21 in NCAA Tournament play.
• Illinois is now 5-8 all-time against TCU.
• Illinois's 24 wins this season sit at No. 8 in the Illinois record books.
• Illinois is 2-0 in matches following a skydiving adventure, the first win came against Oklahoma State in the 2017 NCAA Round of 32.
• TCU was the Illini's 16th ITA-ranked opponent Illinois has faced this season. The Illini are 10-6 against Top-10 foes. 
• TCU is the ninth opponent the Illini have swept in 2018. 
• The Illini are 18-2 when winning the doubles point.
• The Illini are 14-0 when winning at the No. 6 position.
• The Illini are 16-4 when winning at the No. 4 position.
• The Illini are 19-1 when winning at the No. 3 position.
• Brown and Chakravarthi earned their second-straight ranked doubles win over TCU's No. 6-ranked Nunez and Rybakov.
• Brown and Chakravarthi clinched their team-best 11^th doubles point.
• Brown and Chakravarthi are 4-1 in doubles tiebreakers. 
• Kovacevic extended his singles winning streak to 11 matches.
• Kovacevic is 3-1 in three-set matches.
• Kovacevic is 4-1 in NCAA singles matches. 
• Hiltzik is 4-2 in NCAA singles matches. 

Final Results

#8 Illinois 4, #9 TCU 0

Doubles-Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*

1. Brown/Chakravarthi (Illinois) def. #6 Nunez/Rybakova (TCU) 7-6(7)
2. Johnson/Stalder (TCU) def. Hiltzik/Kovacevic (Illinois) 6-3
3. Budic/Vukic (Illinois) def. Kurzban/Roldan (TCU) 6-4

Singles-Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4*

1. Aleks Vukic (Illinois) vs. #21 Alex Rybakov (TCU) 6-3, 2-6, 3-3, unf.
2. Alex Brown (Illinois) vs. #65 Trevor Johnson (TCU) 6-4, 6-7(2), 1-1, unf.
3. Aron Hiltzik (Illinois) def. #114 Guillermo Nunez (TCU) 6-2, 7-5  
4. Aleks Kovacevic (Illinois) def. Reese Stalder (TCU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
5. Zeke Clark (Illinois) vs. Eduardo Roldan (TCU) 6-3, 5-5, unf.
6. Caleb Chakravarthi (Illinois) def. Max Kurzban (TCU) 6-0, 6-4

Records: Illinois (24-7) | TCU (20-5)

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