University of Illinois
Texas A&M
Illini Rally Past Texas A&M, 5-2
March 5, 2010 | Men's Tennis
March 5, 2010
Box Score
URBANA, Ill. - In the second of three matches this week, the 12th-ranked Illini men's tennis team (6-5) picked up its second straight 5-2 victory Friday night, topping No. 17 Texas A&M (7-3) at Atkins Tennis Center. Junior Connor Roth clinched the match with a thrilling comeback over Marcus Lunt, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.
"I think it was a great match for us in a lot of ways," head coach Brad Dancer said. "We choked in doubles tonight, so we had to see come back in singles and see how resilient we are. Texas A&M had a lot of new faces and we didn't know them that well, so we were learning on the run a little bit. I was really proud of our guys, like Hoh and Roth who lost their first sets, but came back. For whatever reason, we're not trusting our games enough to just go play in the first sets. If we just play our game and execute it, then I think we can figure some things out. One of the stars of the night was Marek (Czerwinski). Even though he lost in singles, he was fantastic in doubles and set the tone all the way through. Marek and Abe (Souza) are really our leaders right now and are doing a great job leading the team."
The eighth-ranked doubles tandem of Czerwinski and Dennis Nevolo provided the lone doubles win of the night for the Illini, as they defeated No. 9 Austin Krajicek and Jeff Dadamo, 9-8 (7-4). No. 43 Nevolo carried the momentum over to singles and swifty swept No. 33 Dadamo, 6-1, 6-2 to even the score at one apiece. No. 106 Czerwinski, playing at the No. 1 position for the second straight match, fell 6-4, 6-4 to No. 16 Krajicek who improved to 8-0 in dual matches this season.
Illinois responded by sweeping the final four matches, as junior Johnny Hamui snapped a two-match skid and topped Alexis Klegou, 6-4, 6-4, while No. 66 Souza claimed his team-best 18th win of the season with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Alexey Grigorov, and Roth came through in the clutch to seal the match for the Illini. Freshman Stephen Hoh concluded the night on a high note, rallying back to defeat Alberto Bautista, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 1-0 (10-2).
The Illini open Big Ten play Saturday night at No. 34 Northwestern at 6 p.m.
Match Results
#12 Illinois 5, #17 Texas A&M 2
Singles competition
1. #16 Austin Krajicek (TAMU) def. #106 Marek Czerwinski (ILL) 6-4, 6-4
2. #43 Dennis Nevolo (ILL) def. #33 Jeff Dadamo (TAMU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Johnny Hamui (ILL) def. Alexis Klegou (TAMU) 6-4, 6-4
4. #66 Abe Souza (ILL) def. Alexey Grigorov (TAMU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
5. Stephen Hoh (ILL) def. Alberto Bautista (TAMU) 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 1-0 (10-2)
6. Connor Roth (ILL) def. Marcus Lunt (TAMU) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #8 Dennis Nevolo/Marek Czerwinski (ILL) def. #9 Austin Krajicek/Jeff Dadamo (TAMU) 9-8 (7-4)
2. Alberto Bautista/Alexey Grigorov (TAMU) def. Abe Souza/Connor Roth (ILL) 9-7
3. Marcus Lunt/Alexis Klegou (TAMU) def. Bruno Abdelnour/Johnny Hamui (ILL) 8-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,1,3,4,6,5)
