The No. 4 ranked Fighting Illini men's tennis team will play host for the 2015 Big Ten Tournament with the matches set to be held at the Kahn Outdoor Tennis Complex at the Atkins Tennis Center. Tournament play begins on Thursday, April 23 and will be conclude with the championship match at noon on Sunday, April 26. The championship match will be broadcast on tape delay by the Big Ten Network on May 12 at 6 p.m. CT. Admission to the tournament is free.
FOR STARTERSÂ
After an impressive 10-1 conference record, Illinois earned the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Illini's lone defeat came at the hands of Minnesota on April 17. The Orange and Blue will begin tournament play on Friday at 10 a.m., when they face off against the winner of the Iowa-Wisconsin.
The Illini finished with four players earning seven or more conference wins in singles play. Leading the way was senior Tim Kopinski with an unblemished record of 8-0. Playing a majority of his matches at Illinois' No. 2 singles Jared Hiltzik finished 7-1 in the Big Ten. Hiltzik's lone defeat came against Minnesota's No. 57 Matic Spec.
Freshmen Aleks Vukic and Aron Hiltzik both finished with 8-1 records in conference. Aron Hiltzik currently holds a fourteen match win streak in singles competition and is 27-7 overall in dual matches.
BIG TEN STANDINGSÂ
After splitting last weekend's matches with a loss to Minnesota and a win over Wisconsin, the Illini finished in a three-way tie for the Big Ten regular season championship. Illinois garnered its first regular-season title since 2005. Minnesota (10-1) and Ohio State (10-1) also earned a share of the Big Ten title. Rounding up the top five were Northwestern (8-3) and Indiana (6-5).
DOUBLESÂ
Illinois has claimed the doubles point in 16 of its 26 matches this spring. The Illini are a perfect 16-0 when they win doubles and 10-4 when they drop the early 1-0 advantage.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT HISTORYÂ
Last year, the Fighting Illini entered as the No. 2 seed, receiving a first round bye. After defeating Indiana 4-1 in the quarterfinals, the Illini swept Michigan 4-0. Illinois eventually fell to Ohio State 4-2 in the title match. In 2012, the Illini upset No. 3 Ohio State in Evanston, winning its first Big Ten Tournament title since 2005 and ending the Buckeyes six-year reign.
ILLINI IN THE RANKINGSÂ
After starting the season ranked No. 11, Illinois peaked at No. 2 on March 17. The Illini finished the regular season at No. 4 in the country.
Individually, five Illini are currently ranked in the top 70 in the nation. Leading the way is #24 Jared Hiltzik followed by #45 Farris Gosea, #55 Tim Kopinski, #63 Aron Hiltzik and #66 Aleks Vukic. In doubles, Kopinski and Ross Guignon sit at No. 16, while Kopinski and J. Hiltzik are ranked No. 68.
STREAK BUSTERSÂ
In a matchup of first-place Big Ten teams, the Fighting Illini men's tennis team swept No. 11 Ohio State, 4-0, on March 29 inside Atkins Tennis Center. With the victory, No. 3 Illinois snapped the Buckeyes' 97-straight regular season Big Ten winning streak that dated back to 2005.
TOUGH SLATEÂ
Illinois has faced a slew of ranked opponents this season, totaling 11 matches against teams that were ranked in the top-25. The Illini have gone an impressive 8-3 and hold five top-10 wins including at No. 6 Baylor on Jan. 21, No 6. North Carolina on Jan. 31 and No. 8 Ohio State at the ITA National Indoors. Recently the Orange and Blue have garnered wins over No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Texas A&M during their `March Through Texas,' as well as No. 11 Ohio State. In the Big Ten season, the Illini are undefeated at 9-0. Currently three Big Ten teams are ranked in the top-25 in Illinois (#4), Ohio State (#12) and Minnesota (#23).
