University of Illinois
Georgia Tech
Illinois Sweeps Georgia Tech to Begin 2018 Season
January 27, 2018 | Men's Tennis
NORMAN, Okla. – The Fighting Illini men's tennis team began the 2018 dual match season with a sweep of the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets on Saturday afternoon. The Illini have now won seven straight season-opening matches.
After splitting matches on the first two courts, the deciding match came down to the freshmen pairing of Alex Brown and Caleb Chakravarthi on court three. Down 5-2, the Illini duo won five-straight games to defeat Gresk and Li and secure the point for UI.
In singles play, Illinois won the first set on all six courts and continued to dominate in their respective second sets. Sophomore Aleks Kovacevic was first off the court with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Chris Yun. Senior Aron Hiltzik then topped Elijah Melendez, 6-4, 6-3. In the end, the freshman Chakravarthi clinched the Illini sweep, 6-4, 6-1 against Michael Kay on court six.
Up next, the Orange and Blue will take on the winner of Northwestern and Oklahoma on Sunday at 1 pm with a berth in the ITA National Indoor Championships on the line.
Head Coach Brad Dancer's Thoughts
"Kenny (Thorne) is one of my favorite people in coaching. It's great having Jeremy (Efferding) on the Georgia Tech staff as well. They are going to make a great team. We are 1-0. Our guys played hard. You can see where first-match nerves came out. We know tomorrow will be a challenge."
Final Results
#16 Illinois 4, Georgia Tech 0
Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
- Divar/Kay (Georgia Tech) def. Budic/Vukic (Illinois) 6-4
- Clark/Kovacevic (Illinois) def. Melendez/Yun (Georgia Tech) 6-2
- Brown/Chakravarthi (Illinois) def. Gresk/Li (Georgia Tech) 7-5
Singles-Order of Finish: 4, 2, 6*
- Aleks Vukic (Illinois) vs. #85 Carlos Divar (Georgia Tech) 6-1, 6-6, unf.
- Aron Hiltzik (Illinois) def. Elijah Melendez (Georgia Tech) 6-4, 6-3
- Alex Brown (Illinois) vs. Andrew Li (Georgia Tech) 6-4, 5-2, unf.
- Aleks Kovacevic (Illinois) def. Chris Yun (Georgia Tech) 6-3, 6-4
- Zeke Clark (Illinois) vs. Phillip Gresk (Georgia Tech) 7-5, 5-4, unf.
- Caleb Chakravarthi (Illinois) def. Michael Kay (Georgia Tech) 6-4, 6-1
Records: Illinois (1-0) | Georgia Tech (3-2)
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