NCAA Release
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A day after the Illini were announced as the No. 4 seed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, the NCAA Division I Men's tennis subcommittee selected
Jared Hiltzik and
Farris Gosea to the upcoming NCAA singles tournament. The pair of
Tim Kopinski and
Ross Guignon was also selected and will be representing the Illini in the doubles tournament.
"I'm happy for the four guys who were selected as individuals," head coach
Brad Dancer said. "At the same time, I feel awful for some of the guys on our team, who are having tremendous seasons for us, whose names were not on the list."
Sitting at No. 24 nationally, Hiltzik finished the season as the highest ranked Illini singles player and earned himself an at-large selection. Playing the majority of his matches on court two, Hiltzik earned an impressive overall record of 29-11 and was named First-Team All-Big Ten. Hiltzik enters the postseason after winning six out of his last seven matches.
Last year's Big Ten Player of the Year,
Farris Gosea also earned an at-large selection. Gosea, who has won his last six matches and currently sits at No. 45 in the national rankings, finished the season with an overall record of 11-5 and a conference record of 5-1. Gosea also earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors.
Kopinski and Guignon were selected as an at-large selection and will participate in the doubles tournament for the second straight year. Finishing the regular season as the No. 16 ranked doubles team in the nation, the pair garnered an overall record of 13-10 and went 3-0 in Big Ten play. The senior duo, notably reached the finals at the ITA National Indoor Championships in November. Currently ranked 55th nationally, Kopinski is also listed as the eighth alternate for the singles tournament.
The singles and doubles competition will be held May 20-25 at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas, following the conclusion of the team championships. All matches shall be best-of-three sets. Regular scoring and a 12-point tiebreaker at six games-all will be used for all matches.
