March 27, 2011

Box Score | Photo Gallery

URBANA, Ill. - The No. 10 Illinois men's tennis team (10-7, 2-1 Big Ten) fell 7-0 to fifth-ranked Ohio State (18-2, 3-0) Sunday afternoon at Atkins Tennis Center. It was the Buckeyes' eighth straight win over the Illini and 69th consecutive over a Big Ten opponent dating back to 2004.

"We've got to get better," head coach Brad Dancer said. "As a coaching staff, we need to figure out what we need to do, but I think we got out-toughed today on some courts and out-skilled on others. They've got some good players, no question about that. We probably got out-coached in that sense too. I know the coaches can do a better job of preparing this team and we can put a better product out there."

The Illini's lone win of the day came at No. 2 doubles, where senior Abe Souza and sophomore Stephen Hoh downed Chase Buchanan and Shuhei Uzawa, 8-3. In singles, juniors Dennis Nevolo and Roy Kalmanovich each played to three sets but were unable to come away with a win.

Illinois will hit the road next weekend to take on Indiana (April 2) and Purdue (April 3).

Match Results
#5 Ohio State 7, #10 Illinois 0

Singles competition
1. #19 Chase Buchanan (OSU) def. #7 Dennis Nevolo (ILL) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
2. #5 Blaz Rola (OSU) def. Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Ille Van Engelen (OSU) def. #78 Johnny Hamui (ILL) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
4. #43 Matt Allare (OSU) def. #64 Abe Souza (ILL) 6-3, 6-2
5. #116 Balazs Novak (OSU) def. Stephen Hoh (ILL) 6-2, 6-2
6. #46 Devin McCarthy (OSU) def. Bruno Abdelnour (ILL) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. #14 Peter Kobelt/Matt Allare (OSU) def. Brian Alden/Johnny Hamui (ILL) 8-5
2. Stephen Hoh/Abe Souza (ILL) def. Chase Buchanan/Shuhei Uzawa (OSU) 8-3
3. Balazs Novak/Blaz Rola (OSU) def. Dennis Nevolo/Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) 8-3

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,5,6,3,1,2)