April 26, 2009
Box Score
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - In the teams' sixth straight meeting in the Big Ten Championship title match, the second-seeded Illini fell to the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, 4-1 this afternoon on the outdoor courts of the Varsity Tennis Center. The feisty Illini came out fired up in doubles, taking wins at Nos. 1 and 2, for the early 1-0 lead. However, the Buckeyes rallied in singles taking four matches for their fourth straight Big Ten Championship title.
"Our doubles play was strong for us today," Illinois head coach Brad Dancer said. "I think we could've closed it out sooner, but still to come away with the win gave us an early advantage. In singles, we have to be competitive on every court. I think Marek (Czerwinski) and Dennis (Nevolo) were playing strong out there at Nos. 3 and 4, but we have to have consistency across our lineup. Each guy has to go out there and play their game and know when to take their shots."
The Illini came out fired up in doubles taking early leads at Nos. 1 and 2. The Buckeyes got on the board first taking a win at No. 3 doubles as the Buckeyes' Bryan Koniecko and Shuhei Uzawa took an 8-4 win over Illinois' Roy Kalmanovich and Meedo El Tabakh.
At No. 2 doubles, the 38th-ranked Illini tandem of Marek Czerwinski and Marc Spicijaric handed the Buckeyes' Matt Allare and Chase Buchanan their third loss of the season, as Illini captured an 8-6 win on court two.
Illinois took an early 1-0 advantage after No. 24-ranked Dennis Nevolo and Ruan Roelofse won their seventh straight match together, upsetting the Buckeyes No. 17-ranked duo of Justin Kronauge and Steven Moneke, 8-6, at No. 1 doubles.
In singles, the Buckeyes rallied taking first set wins on all six courts. In the end, Ohio State quickly notched three singles wins to take a 3-1 advantage. Their final singles win came at No. 5 singles, where Illinois sophomore Abe Souza dropped the first set 6-1, then took an early lead and continued to battle in the second set. Souza gave it all he had, but the Buckeyes' No. 70-ranked Balazs Novak edged out the Illini taking the final two games in the second set for the win, 6-4.
With the loss, the Illini fall to 21-8 on the season.
Illinois now awaits its NCAA Tournament fate when 2009 NCAA Division I team selections are announced on Tuesday, April 28, at 4:20 p.m. CT on ESPNews. Illinois is still in the running to host, while the Illini are also looking to see what their final seed will be heading into the 2009 NCAA Championships. The team brackets will be posted on the NCAA websites (www.NCAA.com and www.NCAA.org) shortly after the completion of the televised announcement.
#3 Ohio State 4, #14 Illinois 1
April 26, 2009
Varsity Tennis Center (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Singles
No. 1 -- #3 Bryan Koniecko (OSU) d. #75 Marc Spicijaric (ILL), 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 -- #25 Justin Kronauge (OSU) d. #50 Roy Kalmanovich (ILL), 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 -- #8 Steven Moneke (OSU) vs. #38 Dennis Nevolo (ILL), 6-4, 2-2 (unfinished)
No. 4 -- #108 Matt Allare (OSU) vs. Marek Czerwinski (ILL), 7-6(3), 4-5 (unfinished)
No. 5 -- #70 Balazs Novak (OSU) d. Abe Souza (ILL), 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 -- Chase Buchanan (OSU) d. Brian Livingston (ILL), 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- #24 Nevolo/Ruan Roelofse (ILL) d. #17 Kronauge/Moneke (OSU), 8-6
No. 2 -- #38 Czerwinski/Spicijaric (ILL) d. Allare/Buchanan (OSU), 8-6
No. 3 -- Koniecko/Shuhei Uzawa (OSU) d. Meedo El Tabakh/Kalmanovich (ILL), 8-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 6-2-1-5
