Oct. 14, 2011

Singles | Doubles

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Illini men's tennis team captured three singles and two doubles victories at the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships on Friday, as four Illini advanced to the second round of the three-day tournament, hosted by Ohio State. Juniors Stephen Hoh and Bruno Abdelnour and freshman Tim Kopinski were each victorious in singles action, while the team of freshman Ross Guignon and Abdelnour and the duo of Hoh and Kopinski won in doubles play.

"I think Kopinski was up and down in today's match but was able to pull it together in the end," Illini head coach Brad Dancer said. "That was great, and his next opponent (top-seeded Blaz Rola of Ohio State) will certainly be a good challenge for him. Abdelnour came out very focused today and did a good job with his stuff. Hoh was a little up and down, a little like Kopinski, but got through his match. Guignon had a tough opening round, but I think he'll bounce back tomorrow. I'm looking forward to another day and seeing what we can do."

Abdelnour cruised to a quick 6-1, 6-2 singles victory over Cleveland State's Ali Shabib. Meanwhile, newcomer Kopinski came away with a win of his own, taking a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 thriller over Pablo Olivarez of Western Michigan. Hoh, seeded 15th, added a win as well, as the Australia native downed Notre Dame's Ryan Bandy, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Guignon could not overcome his opponent, however, as the Illini newcomer fell to eighth-seeded Ille Van Engelen (Ohio State), who is No. 61 in the national preseason rankings.

In doubles action, Guignon and Abdelnour teamed up to collect an 8-4 victory over Michael Tebon and Paul Swanson of Wisconsin-Green Bay, marking Guignon's first collegiate doubles victory. Fellow Illini tandem Kopinski and Hoh captured their first win as a team as well with a convincing 8-0 victory over Western Michigan's Shaun Bernstein and Marc Shideler.

The Illini will be back in action tomorrow at 7 a.m. CT for rounds two and three of singles play, followed by the second and third rounds of doubles.

Results and recap will be available at fightingillini.com. Live scoring is available .

Regional Championship Round 1 - Illini Results

Singles
Tim Kopinski (Illinois) def. Pablo Olivarez (Western Michigan), 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
Bruno Abdelnour (Illinois) def. Ali Shabib (Cleveland State), 6-1, 6-2
Stephen Hoh (Illinois) def. Ryan Bandy (Notre Dame), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
#61 Ille Van Engelen (Ohio State) def. Ross Guignon (Illinois), 6-0, 6-3

Doubles
Ross Guignon/Bruno Abdelnour (Illinois) def. Michael Tebon/Paul Swanson (Wisconsin-Green Bay), 8-4
Tim Kopinski/Stephen Hoh (Illinois) def. Shaun Bernstein/Marc Shideler (Western Michigan), 8-0