Box Score 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Fighting Illini men's tennis team defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Redshirt-senior Julian Childers clinched the win for the Orange and Blue for the second-consecutive match. Illinois improves to 4-2 overall this season.

The doubles point went to Notre Dame on Sunday morning after quick wins on courts one and two. The No. 6-ranked Notre Dame pairing of Covalschi and Hagar defeated freshman Gui Gomes and junior Aron Hiltzik, 6-1. The Fighting Irish clinched the point with Gamble and Lebedev's 6-1 victory over redshirt-seniors Alex Jesse and Julian Childers on court two.

In singles play, junior Aleks Vukic was the first Illinois player off the court for the second-consecutive match. The No. 31-ranked Illini defeated No. 34 Josh Hagar, 6-3, 6-1 to bring the match to 1-all. Notre Dame would retake the lead with Lebedev's 6-3, 6-3 win on three over Gomes. Hiltzik quickly brought the match back to a tie on court two after defeating Covalschi, 6-2, 6-2.

The final three courts went to third sets on Sunday morning. Notre Dame's Gamble took the first set over freshman Aleks Kovacevic, 7-5, but the New York native forced a third set with a 6-3 win in the second. Kovacevic opened the third with a break and never looked back, defeating Gamble, 6-2. In the same fashion, Childers dropped the first set to Broadus, 6-3, but came back to blank his opponent in the second. A break and hold to open the deciding set gave Childers a 2-0 lead and the Matteson, Ill. native clinched the Illinois victory with a 6-2 win in the third. Freshman Zeke Clark also picked up his first dual match victory of the season with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win on court six to close out competition.

Up next, the Fighting Illini travel to Charlottesville, Va. for a doubleheader on Tuesday. Illinois will take on the College of William and Mary at 10 a.m. CT and then the No. 1-ranked Virginia Cavaliers at 4 p.m. CT.

Head Coach Brad Dancer's Thoughts

"I am always proud of our team when we gut out road victories. Having said that, we have five distinct issues with today and how we came at the matches. So, when we dig ourselves holes and climb out of them, as a coach, you have to love the effort and resiliency. But we can be better. The whole team knows that. It's a great group of guys that are really fun to be around. They are on a journey and we've got to straighten out the path a bit."

Final Results

#17 Illinois 5, Notre Dame 2

Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 2*

1. #6 Covalschi/Hagar (Notre Dame) def. Gomes/Hiltzik (Illinois) 6-1
2. Gamble/Lebedev (Notre Dame) def. Childers/Jesse (Illinois) 6-1
3. Kovacevic/Vukic (Illinois) vs. Broadus/Kempin (Notre Dame) 4-4, unf.

Singles-Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2, 4, 5*, 6

1. #31 Aleks Vukic (Illinois) def. #34 Josh Hagar (Notre Dame) 6-3, 6-1
2. #21 Aron Hiltzik (Illinois) def. Eddy Covalschi (Notre Dame) 6-2, 6-2
3. Alex Lebedev (Notre Dame) def. Gui Gomes (Illinois) 6-3, 6-3
4. #123 Aleks Kovacevic (Illinois) def. Matt Gamble (Notre Dame) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
5. Julian Childers (Illinois) def. Grayson Broadus (Notre Dame) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
6. Zeke Clark (Illinois) def. Guillermo Cabrera (Notre Dame) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

Records: Illinois (4-2), Notre Dame (5-3)

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