University of Illinois
Iowa
#18 Illini Roll Past Iowa, 6-1
March 4, 2012 | Men's Tennis
March 4, 2012
IOWA CITY, Iowa -The eighteenth-ranked Fighting Illini men's tennis team captured its second conference win of the weekend, taking down Iowa, 6-1, Sunday afternoon at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. With the victory, Illinois improves to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten, while the Hawkeyes fall to 1-8 overall with an 0-1 mark in conference play. Freshman Tim Kopinski clinched the Orange and Blue victory with his second singles win of the weekend.
"It was a very productive weekend, coming out with two 6-1 wins after three weeks off and some of the most extensive travel that we'll have in terms of conference play," Illini head coach Brad Dancer said. "The guys responded very well to that time off. It's not very easy to come back after three weeks and be ready to play right away. I think we calibrated our practices really well. We tapered for a while and worked on our strengths. Coming back into this week, we built back up with set play. We were as ready as we could get ourselves to be."
The Illini secured the doubles point for the second straight match and fifth time this season, as freshman pair Tim Kopinski and Ross Guignon led off with an 8-3 win over Jonas Dierckx and Will Vasos at the No. 2 spot. Junior Stephen Hoh teamed up with freshman Farris Gosea to clinch doubles and put the Illini on the board with an 8-5 victory over Tom Mroziewicz and Matt Hagan at the No. 3 spot, while the No. 41-ranked duo of Dennis Nevolo and Roy Kalmanovich downed Garret Dunn and Michael Swank at No. 1 doubles.
"It was good to get doubles wins today," Dancer said. "We still have some fundamental issues. We're not finishing points that we're capable of at the net, but I thought we played with better energy throughout."
With a 1-0 lead heading into singles action, the Illini continued to dominate Iowa, taking straight-set wins in five of six matches. Gosea cruised to his second singles victory of the weekend with a 6-0, 6-4 finish at the No. 6 spot, followed by a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win by fourth-ranked Nevolo at No. 1. Kopinski added a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles to secure the team victory and give the Orange and Blue a 4-0 advantage. No. 21 Kalmanovich and Hoh also won in singles play to help the Illini to their second 6-1 win in as many matches.
"I think that our preparation showed in our singles play," Dancer said. "Our guys were a little fatigued from the weekend, but I think they responded well and showed what they are capable of. Farris really showed improvement. He started to force his game on his opponent, which is really a positive step. It was great for Hoh to break a little bit of a spell and step up in his match. Kopinksi, Nevolo and Kalmanovich had really strong weekends as well, and Kopinski set the tone for the weekend in singles in terms of how he came out in the Nebraska match on Friday."
Illinois is now 5-0 this season when winning the doubles point. This weekend's wins mark the first back-to-back victories for the Orange and Blue since winning three straight from Jan. 20-22.
The Illini will return to action next weekend, taking on Northwestern on Friday March, 9 at 6 p.m. in Evanston, Ill., before hosting Texas A&M Sunday, March 11 at 1 p.m. at Atkins Tennis Center, kicking off a five-match homestand.
Singles
1. #4 Dennis Nevolo (ILL-M) def. Matt Hagan (IOWA-MEN) 6-2, 6-1
2. #21 Roy Kalmanovich (ILL-M) def. Jonas Dierckx (IOWA-MEN) 6-2, 6-4
3. Stephen Hoh (ILL-M) def. Will Vasos (IOWA-MEN) 6-2, 6-2
4. Garret Dunn (IOWA-MEN) def. Bruno Abdelnour (ILL-M) 6-3, 6-7, 10-7
5. Tim Kopinski (ILL-M) def. Michael Swank (IOWA-MEN) 6-2, 6-3
6. Farris Gosea (ILL-M) def. Andres Estenssoro (IOWA-MEN) 6-0, 6-4
Doubles
1. Dennis Nevolo/Roy Kalmanovich (ILL-M) def. Garret Dunn/Michael Swank (IOWA-MEN) 8-6
2. Ross Guignon/Tim Kopinski (ILL-M) def. Jonas Dierckx/Will Vasos (IOWA-MEN) 8-3
3. Stephen Hoh/Farris Gosea (ILL-M) def. Tom Mroziewicz/Matt Hagan (IOWA-MEN) 8-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,1,5,3,2,4)
