May 1, 2010
Box Score
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -
The second-seeded Illini men's tennis team (19-9) picked up right where it left off with another dominating performance Saturday afternoon to top third-seeded Michigan (13-10), 4-0. With the win, Illinois advances to its 15th-straight Big Ten Tournament title match where it will face top-seeded Ohio State for the seventh-consecutive year on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. The Buckeyes have claimed the last five tournament titles.
"I'm really proud of the way the guys played today," head coach Brad Dancer said. "We've talked all year about how if we take care of things on our end, they'll find a way to take care of themselves. And I think they did a super job of that today. They came out focused and played with good aggressiveness and good energy in doubles. We had some good starts in singles as well. Abe (Souza) set the tone for us as he has all year long. Connor (Roth) clinched the match for us and I'm really pleased with his ability to fight back in matches. We're looking forward to chance to play Ohio State tomorrow. They're an extremely talented team and it will be a great challenge for us."
In doubles action, the 83rd-ranked tandem of junior Johnny Hamui and sophomore Dennis Nevolo topped No. 90 George Navas and Mike Sroczynski, 8-4 to secure the first win of the match, before the Wolverines responded with a victory at the No. 1 spot to even the score. With the point on the line, junior Connor Roth and freshman Stephen Hoh came up big with an 8-6 win over Chris Cha and Chris Madden to give the Illini the 1-0 advantage.
No. 87 Souza led the way in singles with his team-and career-best 33rd win of the season and 12th in his last 13 matches, as he defeated Sroczynski for the second time in a week, 6-1, 6-1. Hamui followed with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Navas for his seventh win in eight matches and fourth straight and Roth rallied past Cha, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 for his third-straight win to seal the match for Illinois.
Live stats for Sunday's championship match will be available and visit fightingillini.com for complete results and recap.
Match Results
#14 Illinois 4, #25 Michigan 0
Singles competition
1. #42 Dennis Nevolo (ILL) vs. #36 Jason Jung (MICH) 6-1, 5-6, unfinished
2. #73 Marek Czerwinski (ILL) vs. #119 Evan King (MICH) 6-4, 5-3, unfinished
3. #87 Abe Souza (ILL) def. Mike Sroczynski (MICH) 6-1, 6-1
4. Johnny Hamui (ILL) def. George Navas (MICH) 6-4, 6-2
5. Bruno Abdelnour (ILL) vs. Chris Madden (MICH) 1-6, 7-5, 0-2, unfinished
6. Connor Roth (ILL) def. Chris Cha (MICH) 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #32 Jason Jung/Evan King (MICH) def. #60 Marek Czerwinski/Abe Souza (ILL) 8-4
2. #83 Johnny Hamui/Dennis Nevolo (ILL) def. #90 George Navas/Mike Sroczynski (MICH) 8-4
3. Connor Roth/Stephen Hoh (ILL) def. Chris Cha/Chris Madden (MICH) 8-6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,4,6)
