Tournament Central Page

URBANA REGIONAL PREVIEW 
The Fighting Illini men's tennis squad will host the first and second rounds May 8-9 after being chosen as the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. On Friday, Louisville will battle Drake at 1 p.m. CT, followed by the Illini's first round matchup vs. Green Bay at 4 p.m. The winners of each match will then square off on Saturday at 3 p.m. for the right to travel to Waco, Texas for the NCAA Championships.

TICKET AND PARKING INFO 
Ticket prices for the First and Second rounds will be $5 for adults and $3 for students and can be purchased at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex starting one hour prior to the first match each day. The first 100 students each day will receive free admission by showing their i-card at the ticket booth. One ticket is valid for one admission to all matches on the day the ticket is purchased. Spectator parking is available east of the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex off of Goodwin Ave where fans can then enter the complex from this lot.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY 
Since the tournament opened to a 64-team field in 1999, the Illini have advanced to the second round each year, compiling a perfect 16-0 record. In the second round, the Orange and Blue are an impressive 13-3. Thus, Illini head coach Brad Dancer has reached the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships seven-out-of-nine times since taking over in the 2005-06 season.

Overall, the Illini are 41-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, as they will be appearing in the tournament for the 20th straight year. Illinois won its lone national championship in 2003 and was national runner-up in 2007.

SERVING POINTS 
No. 33 Farris Gosea will likely serve as Illinois' No. 1 singles player. The senior enters the postseason with a six-match winning streak and is 11-5 overall this dual season.

Jared Hiltzik, the highest ranked player for the Illini at No. 23, will play at the No. 2 position. Jared is an impressive 11-1 when playing as Illinois' No. 2 singles.

Tim Kopinski ended the regular season with a six-match winning streak. Kopinski is 14-1 at the No. 3 position. 

The Illini are a perfect 22-0 at No. 4 singles this season with Aron Hiltzik and Aleks Vukic each holding 9-0 records. Overall Aron enters the postseason with an impressive 15-match winning streak, currently the longest on the team. Vukic is 20-2 overall this dual season and one victory away from breaking Ryler DeHeart's school record of most wins in a singles season. Vukic currently sports a 42-5 overall record.

DOUBLES 
Illinois has claimed the doubles point in 19 of its 29 matches this spring. The Illini are a perfect 19-0 when they win doubles and 6-4 when they drop the early 1-0 advantage.

ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS 
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 85. Leading the way is #23 Jared Hiltzik followed by #33 Farris Gosea, #65 Tim Kopinski, #74 Aleks Vukic and #81 Aron Hiltzik. In doubles, Kopinski and Ross Guignon sit at No. 17, while Kopinski and Jared Hiltzik are ranked No. 36.

HILTZIK & GOSEA SINGLES BOUND // KOPINSKI & GUIGNON SELECTED FOR DOUBLES 
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.

The singles and doubles competition will occur 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.

2015 B1G CHAMPIONS & B1G TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS 
The Illini (25-4, 10-1) wrapped up a stellar conference season as 2015 Big Ten Champions and 2015 Big Ten Tournament Champions. Illinois finished in a three-way tie for the Big Ten regular season championship, garnering its first regular-season title since 2005. Minnesota (10-1) and Ohio State (10-1) also earned a share of the conference title.

Illinois dominated throughout the B1G Tournament garnering 4-0 victories in all three matches. Illinois defeated Iowa quarterfinals and Northwestern in the semifinals. The fourth-ranked and one-seed Fighting Illini cruised to a Big Ten title with a victory over two-seeded and 12th-ranked Ohio State. The victory marked the second conference tournament title for the Illini under head coach Brad Dancer who were champions in 2012. Their win over Ohio State in the finals was the Orange and Blue's third victory over the Buckeyes this season.

BIG TEN ACCOLADES 
Five Illini took home All-Big Ten honors in 2015, marking the first time that the Orange and Blue produced five honorees since 2003. Four Illini were named First-Team selections including Farris Gosea, Jared Hiltzik, Tim Kopinski and Aron Hiltzik, while Aleks Vukic received Second-Team honors. Gosea and Jared were two of six unanimous First-Team selections.

Three Illini earned B1G Athlete of the Week honors this season. Aleks Vukic earned the accolade on March 31 after he went a perfect 4-0, helping the Illini end No. 11 Ohio State's 97-straight regular season Big Ten winning streak. Aron Hiltzik earned his first weekly honor on March 17. Aron secured two victories over ranked opponents on the Texas road trip, helping the Illini to wins over No. 8 Texas (4-2) and No. 9 Texas A&M (4-2). Jared Hiltzik was named athlete of the week on Feb. 17 for his efforts at the 2015 ITA Men's Indoor Championships. Jared went 2-0 on the weekend, helping the Illini to wins over No. 13 California (4-2) and No. 8 Ohio State (4-2).

GREEN BAY 
The Phoenix enter the NCAA Championships riding an eight-match winning streak, including winning the Horizon League Championship. Green Bay traveled to Champaign, Ill. on Jan. 23 to face the Fighting Illini. Illinois won the match 4-0.

Michael Tenzer leads the Phoenix at No. 1 singles with a 15-7 record. Leopold Gomez Islinger has a 15-7 record at No. 2 singles. Green Bay has no ranked singles or doubles players. Tenzer and Florian Kraenzler have the most doubles wins at Green Bay's No. 1 doubles with a 6-4 record.

DRAKE 
Traveling to Urbana for the start of the NCAA Tournament is nothing new to Drake. This weekend marks the squad's sixth trip to the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Drake's last seven tournament appearances. All together, the Bulldogs will be making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bulldogs are 24-6 overall on the year.

The Bulldogs captured their ninth Missouri Valley Conference Championship and have recorded an impressive 12-4 mark against nationally ranked teams.

Alan Salibasic is the highest ranked singles player at No. 40. The senior has played in the No. 1 position for Drake where he has a 19-7 record. Junior Benn Lott ranks No. 66 nationally and is 12-6 at the No. 2 position.

LOUISVILLE 
The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 23-8 record, having gone 7-6 in ACC play. Louisville is 8-7 against nationally ranked teams with their best victory coming against No. 10 North Carolina on March 20.

Sebastian Stiefelmeyer leads the Cardinals in singles and was selected as the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Singles Championships. Stiefelmeyer holds a 22-2 dual record at the No. 1 singles position. Currently at No. 91, Albert Wagner is the other ranked singles player for the Cardinals. Louisville also sports the No. 81 ranked doubles team in Jeffrey Brown and Alex Gornet.