INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – The No. 11 Fighting Illini men's tennis team defeated No. 21 Baylor 4-2 Saturday afternoon in the first match of the 2016 BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge presented by Oracle. Illinois moves to 8-6 on the season, garnering its fifth win over a top-25 opponent this season.
Trailing the Bears 2-0, the Illini garnered four straight singles wins to secure the match victory.
"A very exciting win for the program. It's an honor for Larry to invite his Illini to this event," head coach Brad Dancer said. "Indian Wells in the spring time is just a special place. Win or lose, these are great matches for our program. In singles, we continue to really fight and play hard. This team is fun to coach. It doesn't matter whether guys are winning or losing, they play hard and represent Illinois with great passion."
Despite a 6-0 win from Aleks Vukic and Aron Hiltzik over Tchoutakian/Podvinski at No. 2 doubles, the Illini failed to garner the doubles point. Jared Hiltzik and Alex Jesse fell 6-2 to No. 12 Lenz/Little. Julian Childers and Pengxuan Jiang dropped its match 6-1 to Rios/Bendeck on court three.
Baylor extended the lead with a win at the No. 5 singles position, as Pablo Landa fell 6-0, 6-2 to Jimmy Bendeck.
Illinois began to take control in singles, claiming the first set on four courts. No. 6 Vukic garnered the first point for the Illini, as he defeated No. 56 Max Tchoutakian 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 2 singles position. Vukic moves to 10-2 on the season.
No. 8 Jared Hiltzik evened the score with a victory on court one. Hiltzik defeated No. 17 Julian Lenz 6-1, 6-4 to improve his dual record to 10-2 this season.
Illinois took a 3-2 lead after No. 63 Aron Hiltzik took down Felipe Rios 6-3, 7-5 at No. 3 singles. The clincher came from Julian Childers who topped Will Little 7-5, 6-2 on court four.
Up next, the Orange and Blue will travel to Lexington, Kentucky to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. Competition will begin at 1 p.m. CT on March 22.
#11 Illinois 4, #21 Baylor 2
Singles competition
1. #8 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. #17 Julian Lenz (BU) 6-1, 6-4
2. #6 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. #56 Max Tchoutakian (BU) 6-2, 6-2
3. #63 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. Felipe Rios (BU) 6-3, 7-5
4. Julian Childers (ILL) def. Will Little (BU) 7-5, 6-2
5. Jimmy Bendeck (BU) def. Pablo Landa (ILL) 6-0, 6-2
6. Tommy Podvinski (BU) vs. Asher Hirsch (ILL), 6-0, 6-7(8), 0-1
Doubles competition
1. #12 Julian Lenz/Will Little (BU) def. Alex Jesse/Jared Hiltzik (ILL) 6-2
2. Aleks Vukic/Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. Max Tchoutakian/Tommy Podvinski (BU) 6-0
3. Felipe Rios/Jimmy Bendeck (BU) def. Julian Childers/Pengxuan Jiang (ILL) 6-1
Match Notes:
Illinois 8-6; National ranking #11
Baylor 11-5; National ranking #21
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,2,1,3,4)
BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge presented by Oracle
