WACO, Texas - Junior Jared Hiltzik advanced to the Quarterfinals in the NCAA Singles Championships with a 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 win over Lloyd Glasspool of Texas Friday afternoon. No. 23 Hiltzik becomes the first Illini to reach the NCAA Quarterfinals since Kevin Anderson in 2007. Hiltzik will face No. 6 [7] Noah Rubin of Wake Forest Saturday at Noon CT.

"Kevin Anderson is pretty good company to be with," junior Jared Hiltzik said. "Reaching the Quarterfinals is definitely something to be proud of. But I have bigger goals for this tournament."

Battling both No. 42 Glasspool and Mother Nature, Hiltzik's match was delayed multiple times due to rain. After breaking Glasspool early in the first set to go up 2-1, Hiltzik was broken to even the set at four all. Both would hold serve to force a tiebreak, which Hiltzik secured 7-3 to take the first set.

The second set was littered with rain delays. The first of three rain delays occurred as Glasspol was serving up 3-0 and lasted 15 minutes. When Hiltzik held serve to go down 1-4, play was suspended again for 45 minutes. Upon returning to action, the two played a few points before rain fell again, forcing the players to wait inside for a second time. When play resumed outside, Glasspool secured the second set 6-2.

"I started off pretty hot and stayed focused early in the first set," Hiltzik said. "I gave back a break and was able to win the tiebreak. The first rain delay got me refocused a bit and I started playing better by the end of the second set."

In the third set, each athlete held serve until Hiltzik broke Glasspool to go up 4-2. Holding serve, Hiltzik would secure the set 6-3 to clinch the match and extend the longest run of his career in the NCAA Championships.

"Tough challenge for Jared today," head coach Brad Dancer said. "Lloyd had played extremely well in this tournament coming into today and jumped on Jared in the opening game. That level sparked J's focus and he maintained a great balance until throwing a clunker in at 4-3. Jared was then fighting for the first set, similar to yesterday, and gutted it out. The second set got tricky with three separate rain delays where neither player could gain traction. In the third, you could see the level spike up early with both players raising their games. The final twenty minutes is the most dialed in I have seen Jared in some time. Jared wants to thank our Big Ten brothers, as they gave Jared an emotional lift in the third set."

Up next, the junior will face No. 6 Noah Rubin who defeated No. 15 [9-16] Yannick Hanfmann (USC), 6-2, 6-4 Friday to advance. In the Round of 32, Rubin topped Chris Diaz (Ohio State) 6-3, 6-2 and in the opening round he defeated Tom Fawcett (Stanford) 7-5, 6-4.