URBANA, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's tennis team rides a nine-match winning streak into the final regular season weekend. The Orange and Blue take on Penn State Friday, April 22, at 3 p.m. CT, before facing No. 5 Ohio State Sunday, April 24, at 11 a.m. CT.
A Big Ten title will potentially be on the line for the Illini this weekend, as the top three teams in the Big Ten will battle in Columbus over the next three days. Illinois sits third in the conference standings, one match behind Northwestern (9-0) and Ohio State (9-0). The Wildcats and Buckeyes square off in Columbus, Ohio, Friday night. The regular season and B1G Tournament Championships have been won by Ohio State or Illinois every season since 1997.
For Starters
The Orange and Blue enter the weekend with an overall record of 17-7, including an 8-1 mark in conference. UI extended its winning streak to nine with victories over Michigan State and No. 21 Michigan a week ago. After losing its first conference match to Northwestern, the Illini have now won eight straight Big Ten matches.
In doubles play, Illinois has taken the early one-point advantage in nine of the last 10 matches. Individually, Julian Childers and Aleks Vukic currently hold unblemished 7-0 records in Big Ten singles matches.
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions enter the weekend with a 19-6 record and a 5-4 mark in the Big Ten. Penn State has garnered conference wins over Michigan State, Nebraska, Iowa, Purdue and Wisconsin. PSU does not have anyone nationally ranked in singles or doubles.
Scouting Ohio State
The Buckeyes currently rank No. 5 in nation and will host their Senior Day on Sunday against the Illini. Ohio State has swept every Big Ten opponent so far this season by the score of 4-0. Mikal Torpegaard recently moved to the No. 1 singles ranking in the nation. Three other Buckeyes are ranked individually in No. 37 Hugo Di Feo, No. 90 Herkko Pollanen and No. 93 Chris Diaz. In doubles, Pollanen and Torpegaard rank No. 20, while Ralf Steinbach and Martin Joyce rank No. 31.
Last season, the Illini won all three meetings with Ohio State, including sweeping the Buckeyes 4-0 in the championship match of the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois also snapped the Buckeyes' 97-straight regular season Big Ten winning streak that dated back to 2005.
Illini in The Rankings
Illinois is currently ranked at No. 15 in the most recent ITA national rankings. UI is one of two teams in the country with two singles players currently ranked in the top-15 nationally, highlighted by No. 3 Aleks Vukic and No. 13 Jared Hiltzik. Sophomore Aron Hiltzik is also ranked No. 65. The doubles duo of Vukic and Aron entered the national rankings for the first time on April 19 and rank No. 90.
Illini Duo Garners B1G Honors
Fighting Illini men's tennis sophomore Aleks Vukic was named Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, April 5, as announced by the league office. It marks the third weekly honor Vukic has received this season, which ties with Mikal Torpegaard of Ohio State for the most by a player this season. Vukic's laurel marks the fourth conference honor for Illinois this season and the fourth of his career. Jared Hiltzik also garnered the conference's weekly award this season, doing so on March 1.
