April 2, 2011

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - In a fight to the finish, the 13th-ranked Illini men's tennis team (10-8, 2-2, Big Ten) came up just short Saturday afternoon in a 4-3 loss at Indiana (17-4, 4-0). Juniors Dennis Nevolo and Roy Kalmanovich each were victorious in both singles and doubles for the Illini.

"We have a lot of respect for Indiana," head coach Brad Dancer said. "I think that showed today because we panicked on some courts and when we do that, we're not going to win. Roy stepped up and played a great match. He's continued to progress and get back to how we know he's capable of playing. Dennis had some early hiccups but really used his legs better in the second set. That's going to be important for him down the road."

Nevolo and Kalmanovich downed Isade Juneau and Will Kendall, 8-3, before senior Abe Souza and sophomore Stephen Hoh secured the point with an 8-5 victory over No. 81 Josh MacTaggart and Stephen Vogl. In singles, Kalmanovich easily handled Santiago Gruter, 6-1, 6-2, for his 10th win of the season, while Nevolo bested Langer, 7-5, 6-1, to record his team-best 21st victory of the year.

Illinois is back in action tomorrow at Purdue at 11 a.m. CT.

Match Results
#29 Indiana 4, #13 Illinois 3

Singles competition
1. #9 Dennis Nevolo (ILL) def. Jeremy Langer (IND) 7-5, 6-1
2. Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) def. Santiago Gruter (IND) 6-1, 6-2
3. #109 Josh MacTaggart (IND) def. #95 Johnny Hamui (ILL) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Claes Goransson (IND) def. #61 Abe Souza (ILL) 6-3, 7-6
5. Isade Juneau (IND) def. Stephen Hoh (ILL) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
6. Stephen Vogl (IND) def. Bruno Abdelnour (ILL) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. #50 Santiago Gruter/Jeremy Langer (IND) def. Brian Alden/Johnny Hamui (ILL) 8-4
2. Stephen Hoh/Abe Souza (ILL) def. #81 Josh MacTaggart/Stephen Vogl (IND) 8-5
3. Dennis Nevolo/Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) def. Isade Juneau/Will Kendall (IND) 8-3

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