WACO, Texas - The Fighting Illini men's tennis team's run in the NCAA Tournament came to and end Thursday afternoon in the Round of 16 after a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Tar Heels in Waco, Texas. The Orange and Blue showed relentless fight after dropping the doubles point and the first set on five courts, forcing four matches to a third set and taking a 3-2 lead. Ultimately, Illinois was unable to clinch on court one or two, where the Tar Heels claimed wins to secure the match victory.
"I thought North Carolina did a great job in the doubles," head coach Brad Dancer said. "They kicked us in the teeth a little bit in the doubles, but I felt that we responded really well. We made the doubles close, but we were not able to get back and that proved to be the difference today. In the singles, we talked about the team coming out and being relentless all the way through, and I thought we did a great job. On courts one and two there were late breaks serving for the first sets. If we win those first sets maybe it is a different story in how the rest of the match plays out. At the end of the day you have to give credit to North Carolina. We had great fans out here, great momentum, and our guys got down and fought back really hard. The coaching staff wants to say a huge thank you to all the fans that traveled down to Waco to cheer us on."
The Illini dropped the doubles point with losses on courts one and three. Hess-Olesen/Brayden Schnur defeated No. 36Jared Hiltzik and Tim Kopinski 8-5 on court one, while Murray/Schneider topped Aron Hiltzik and Blake Bazarnik 8-4 on court three. Farris Gosea and Aleks Vukic were up 7-5 on No. 45 Clark/Kelley when the match was abandoned.
North Carolina kept the momentum going into singles, taking the first set on five courts. In his typical fashion, No. 74Aleks Vukic was first off the court for the Illini. The freshman claimed a straight set (6-3, 6-2) victory over Robert Kelly on court five, improving his school record wins total to 45.
The Illini showed grit by flipping the momentum to claim the second set on five matches. After North Carolina's Ebsen Hess-Olesen defeated Toshiki Matsuya 6-3, 6-2 on court six, No. 65 Tim Kopinski evened the score at two all on court three. After dropping the first set, Kopinski claimed 12 of the last 13 games to defeat No. 73 Brett Clark 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.
No. 81 Aron Hiltzik followed with a third set winner of his own, defeating Jack Murray 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to give the Illini the 3-2 advantage. With today's victory, Hiltzik will finish the season having won his last 16 matches.
Despite dropping first set tiebreakers, Jared Hiltzik and Farris Gosea forced third sets with 6-4 and 6-2 second set wins, respectively. With both matches near a finish, No. 33 Gosea lost the third set 6-2 to No. 11 Brayden Schnur on court one and minutes later No. 28 Ronnie Schneider defeated No. 23 Jared Hiltzik 6-3 in the third to clinch the victory.
Illinois finishes 2015 with a 27-5 overall record on Dancer's eighth trip to the Sweet 16 in his 10th year at the helm. Although team play is over for the Orange and Blue this season, four Illini will still play on in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. Farris Gosea and Jared Hiltzik will compete as at large selection in the singles tournament starting Wednesday May 20. Tim Kopinski and Ross Guignon will be be back in action together in the doubles tournament. Tim Kopinski is also on the alternate list for the singles tournament.
Full results from today's match are below.
Doubles
1. Ebsen Hess-Olesen/Brayden Schnur (UNC) def. #36 Jared Hiltzik/Tim Kopinski (ILL) 8-5
2. Farris Gosea/Aleks Vukic (ILL) vs. #45 Brett Clark/Robert Kelly (UNC) 7-5, UNF
3. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. Blake Bazarnik/Aron Hiltzik (ILL) 8-4
(Order of finish: 1, 3)
Singles
1. #11 Brayden Schnur (UNC) def. #33 Farris Gosea (ILL) 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-2
2. #28 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. #23 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3
3. #65 Tim Kopinski (ILL) def. #73 Brett Clark (UNC) 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
4. #81 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. Jack Murray (UNC) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. #74 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. Robert Kelly (UNC) 6-3, 6-2
6. Ebsen Hess-Olesen (UNC) def. Toshiki Matsuya (ILL) 6-3, 6-2
(Order of finish: 5, 6, 3, 4, 1, 2)
