University of Illinois
Virginia
@IlliniMTennis Hosts Two Top-10 Teams This Weekend
February 26, 2016 | Men's Tennis
URBANA, Ill. - The No. 11 ranked Fighting Illini men's tennis team (6-4) will square off against No. 2 Virginia (8-1) and No. 8 TCU (6-2) in consecutive days inside Atkins Tennis. The Illini host the Cavaliers Saturday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. and the Horned Frogs Sunday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m.
ILLINI NOTES
- The Illini's current record against ranked opponents is 3-4 this season.
- All four of Illinois' losses were at the hands of teams ranked in the top-10 at the time.
- Virginia is the reigning NCAA Champion, while TCU reached the NCAA Semifinals in 2015
- The Illini have not beaten Virginia since 2006
- Illinois faced TCU earlier this season at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, losing 4-0 to the Horned Frogs.
- Illinois is currently ranked No. 11 on the season, after receiving a preseason ranking of No. 6.
- Illinois and Virginia are the only two teams to sport two top-15 ranked singles players
- Illinois has three ranked singles players in No. 9 Aleks Vukic, No. 11 Jared Hiltzik and No. 66 Aron Hiltzik
- The Illini are a combined 14-2 at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions this season.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA
Virginia, the 2015 NCAA Champions, enters the weekend with an 8-1 record coming off of its first loss of the season. The No. 2 Cavaliers were upset by North Carolina in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, falling 4-2 to the Tar Heels. Before the loss, Virginia had been ranked as No. 1 team in the country. This will be Virginia's first true road match of the season. This is the first matchup between Illinois and Virginia since 2013.
The Cavaliers currently sport five ranked singles players. Along with Illinois, they are one of two teams to have two top-15 singles players. The ranked Cavilers include: No. 3 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, No. 14 Ryan Shane, No. 29 Collin Altamirano, No. 79 Alexander Ritschard and No. 111 JC Aragone. Virginia also has three ranked doubles teams, including two in the top-10. Mac Styslinger and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski rank No. 6, while Luca Corinteli and Ryan Shane rank No. 7. Henrik Wiersholm and JC Aragone rank No. 29.
SCOUTING TCU
TCU is 6-2 on the season and enters the weekend ranked No. 8 in the nation. TCU will face a road match against Wisconsin on Friday, Feb. 26, before heading to Champaign. This will be the second match of the season between TCU and Illinois, as the Horned Frogs topped Illinois 4-0 at National Indoors.
TCU currently has four ranked singles players, led by No. 2 Cameron Norrie. Other ranked Horned Frogs include: No. 24 Alex Rybakov, No. 49 Guillermo Nunez and No. 99 Eduardo Nava. TCU does not have a ranked doubles team.
VUKIC CONTINUES TO BUILD RESUME
Sophomore Aleks Vukic was named Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, Feb. 16, as announced by the league office. Vukic is coming off two ranked singles victories and a doubles victory at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. He delivered the clincher in Illinois' 4-3 victory over No. 13 South Florida on Saturday, Feb. 13. The honor is the second for Vukic this season and third of his career. The Sydney, Australia native was named the ITA Mover of Week on Feb. 10, garnering a No. 12 ranking after being previously unranked entering the season.
HILTZIK ENTERS 100 WIN CLUB
Senior Jared Hiltzik surpassed the 100 singles win mark earlier this season and currently stands at 104 total singles victories. Hiltzik is one of 14 Illini to total over 100 victories. He currently sits as the 11th-winningst singles player in program history.
