2014-15 Season Stats 

The 2015 Fighting Illini men's tennis team produced one of the most successful seasons in program history. The Illini posted a 27-5 record, the most wins since the 2003 season, and secured the Big Ten Championships and Big Ten Tournament Championship. Illinois rose as high as No. 2 in the ITA national rankings, the highest they've achieved since 2006, went 15-1 at home and capped the year by reaching the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in Coach Dancer's 10 years at the helm.

2015 B1G CHAMPIONS & B1G TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS

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

Entering as the No. 1 seed, Illinois dominated throughout the B1G Tournament garnering 4-0 victories in all three matches. Illinois defeated Iowa in the Quarterfinals and Northwestern in the Semifinals. The 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.

JARED HILTZIK MAKES HISTORIC NCAA TOURNAMENT RUN

Junior Jared Hiltzik entered the NCAA Singles Championship unseeded and made a deep run to the Quarterfinals. By reaching the Sweet 16, Hiltzik earned All-American status for the second straight year, becoming the first Illini to earn back-to-back All-American honors since Dennis Nevolo in 2011 and 2012. He's the ninth Illini to garner All-American honors in multiple years. Just as impressive, the 2015 All-American was the first Illini to reach the NCAA Quarterfinals since Illini great Kevin Anderson in 2007.

The Wilmette, Illinois native opened the championships with a 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-2 win over Duke's Raphael Hemmeler. He then secured a spot in the Round of 16 with a 7-6(7), 6-4 win over [9-16] Dominik Koepfer of Tulane and advanced to the Quarterfinals by taking out Lloyd Glasspool of Texas 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3. Hiltzik's run came to an end in the Quarterfinals with a 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-2 loss to No. 6 [7] Noah Rubin of Wake Forest.  

NCAA TOURNAMENT RECAP

The Orange and Blue hosted the First and Second rounds of the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in Coach Dancer's 10 years as head coach. Illinois moved to 17-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 victory over Green Bay at home.

The Fighting Illini then punched their ticket into the Round of 16 with a 4-2 victory over Drake in the Second round. After dropping the doubles point, Illinois secured the match victory with singles wins from Aleks Vukic, Jared Hiltzik, Ross Guignon and Farris Gosea, in said order.

The Fighting Illini men's tennis team's run in the NCAA Tournament came to an end in the Round of 16 after a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to North Carolina 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. Aleks Vukic, Tim Kopinski and Aron Hiltzik garnered victories to give Illinois 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.

VUKIC BREAKS SINGLE SEASON WINS RECORD

On May 8 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, freshman Aleks Vukic defeated Florian Kraenzler of Green Bay 7-6, 6-4 to secure his 43rd singles victory of the year. The win moved Vukic past Ryler DeHeart (2004-05) for the school record for most singles wins in a season. Vukic, the Sydney, Australia native, added two more wins in the NCAA Tournament, rounding out the season with a school record 45 victories. The Second-Team All-Big Selection finished the season at 45-5. 

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.

Tim Kopinski led the Illini with a perfect 8-0 record in conference, while Vukic (8-1), Aron (8-1), Jared (7-1) and Gosea (5-1) all suffered only one loss.

Three Illini earned B1G Athlete of the Week honors this season. Aleks Vukic earned the accolade on March 31. Aron Hiltzik earned his first weekly honor on March 17 and Jared Hiltzik was named athlete of the week on Feb. 17.

ILLINI EARN FOUR ITA REGIONAL AWARDS

Illinois took home a total of four 2015 ITA Midwest Region awards. Head coach Brad Dancer was named the Midwest Region Coach of the Year, marking his first coach of the year accolade. Associate head coach Marcos Asse was named the Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year for the first time, while senior Tim Kopinski was named the Midwest ITA Senior Player of the Year and Midwest ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship & Leadership Award winner. 

SERVING POINTS

Farris Gosea served primarily as Illinois' No. 1 singles player. The senior was one of the most clutch performers on the team, producing several clinching match victories including the upset of North Carolina at home and postseason victories over Iowa, Northwestern, Green Bay and Drake. Gosea finished with a 13-7 overall record.

Jared Hiltzik played primarliy at the No. 2 position, finishing the season with an impressive 12-2 mark at Illinois' No. 2 singles. Hiltzik finished the season with the second-most wins on the team at 33-13 overall and 20-3 in the dual season. 

Senior Tim Kopinski finished the season 15-2 at Illinois' No. 3 position. The senior produced a 28-10 overall record moving him up the all-time wins list. Kopinski finsihed his career as one of the winningist Illini in program history, finishing in the top-seven all-time in singles, doubles and combined wins.  

The Illini went a perfect 25-0 at No. 4 singles this season with Aron Hiltzik and Aleks Vukic each claiming at least nine victories at the position. Aron, who totaled an overall record of 29-7 and dual record of 18-3, rounded out the season with the longest winning streak on the team at 16 matches. Vukic finished 23-2 in the dual season and broke the school record for most wins in a singles season with a 45-5 overall record.

KOPINSKI & GUIGNON FINISH FALL SEASON WITH A BANG

Fighting Illini men's tennis seniors Tim Kopinski and Ross Guignon claimed their first professional tittle on November 15 at Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana at the JSM Challenger. With a 7-6(2), 6-2 victory over Frank Dancevic (CAN) and Adil Shamasdin (CAN), the senior duo became the first ever Illinois doubles team to win the JSM Challenger. The JSM Challenger is the final pit stop of the USTA Pro Circuit season.

Kopinski and Guignon nearly claimed their first collegiate national championship just one week before claiming their first ATP Challenger title. The two made a deep run to the championship match at the ITA National Indoor Championships before falling 6-3, 7-5 to No. 19 [1] Hanfmann/Quiroz at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York. The finals appearance at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships marked the best run in senior duo's career, improving upon their Semifinal appearance from last season.

STREAK BUSTERS

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.

HOME SWEET HOME

The Illini continued their home court dominance in 2015, suffering only one defeat at Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois went 15-1 boasting ranked wins over then No. 6 North Carolina and No. 11 Ohio State and Kentucky in the regular season. The Orange and Blue added five postseason victories at home, securing a Big Ten Tournament Championship and NCAA Regional Championship in Urbana.

Going a perfect 13-0 in 2014, Illinois extended its home winning streak to 17 matches, the fourth longest streak in program history, before falling to Duke on Jan. 30. Over the last two seasons the Illini have won gone 28-1 at home.

TOUGH SLATE

Illinois faced a slew of ranked opponents this season, totaling 13 matches against teams ranked in the top-25. The Illini finished with an impressive 9-4 record and secured five top-10 wins including at No. 6 Baylor on Jan. 21, vs. No 6. North Carolina on Jan. 31 and No. 8 Ohio State at the ITA National Indoors. In March, the Orange and Blue embarked on a "March Through Texas" for three road matches in consecutive days against ranked teams and came out with wins over No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Texas A&M.

ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS

The Illini started the season ranked No. 11, and peaked at No. 2 on March 17, achieving their highest ITA national ranking since 2006. The Illini entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 national seed and finished the season at No. 6 in the final rankings.

An impressive total of five Illini were individually ranked for a majority of the season. Leading the way was Jared Hiltzik who finished the season ranked No. 21, followed by #43 Farris Gosea, #59 Tim Kopinski, #73 Aleks Vukic and #80 Aron Hiltzik. In doubles, Kopinski and Ross Guignon finished at No. 23, while Kopinski and Jared Hiltzik were slated at No. 43.