Box Score 

URBANA, Ill. – The Illinois Fighting Illini defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes, 6-1 on a windy Saturday afternoon at the Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois improves to 11-9 overall this season and 4-2 in Big Ten play.

The Illini clinched the doubles point for the third-consecutive match with wins on courts one and two. Redshirt-senior Alex Jesse and freshman Aleks Kovacevic defeated Iowa's Allaf and Silverstein, 7-5 at the No. 1 position. A back-and-forth contest on two led to a tiebreaker between junior Aleks Vukic and freshman Vuk Budic and the Hawkeye duo of Haden and Jacoby. Down 3-1 in the tiebreaker, the Illini pair took six of the final seven games to win 7-4 and clinch the point for Illinois.

In singles action, the No. 6-ranked Vukic dominated Kareem Allaf on court one for a 6-1, 6-2 win. In a similar fashion, freshman Noe Khlif defeated Jake Jacoby 6-0, 6-4 on court four. Kovacevic clinched the match win for Illinois with a three-set comeback victory on court three, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The remaining singles matches played out. Budic earned a 6-2, 6-4 win on court six and Clark defeated Haden 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 on five. The Hawkeyes lone team point came at the No. 2 position.

Up next, the Illini will take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT at the Atkins Tennis Center.

Associate Head Coach Marcos Asse's Thoughts

"I think our freshmen need to make a decision on what type of team they want this to be. For better or worse, it is their team. With six freshmen, it's going to be their call collectively to decide how they represent Illinois Tennis. Today was a better job in spots. There are areas in which we can improve on, but we are still looking for that match where it's a full mentally-engaged effort."

Final Results

Illinois 6, Iowa 1

Doubles-Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*

1. Jesse/Kovacevic (Illinois) def. Allaf/Silverstein (Iowa) 7-5
2. Budic/Vukic (Illinois) def. Haden/Jacoby (Iowa) 7-6(4)
3. Hallestrand/Laresen (Iowa) def. Clark/Gomes (Illinois) 6-3

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

1. #6 Aleks Vukic (Illinois) def. Kareem Allaf (Iowa) 6-1, 6-2
2. Josh Silverstein (Iowa) def. Gui Gomes (Illinois) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Aleks Kovacevic (Illinois) def. Jonas Larsen (Iowa) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
4. Noe Khlif (Illinois) def. Jake Jacoby (Iowa) 6-0, 6-4
5. Zeke Clark (Illinois) def. Robin Haden (Iowa) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Vuk Budic (Illinois) def. Jason Kerst (Iowa) 6-2, 6-4

Records: Illinois 11-9, 4-2 | Iowa 11-10, 1-5

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