SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Illinois junior Aleks Kovacevic defeated fellow teammate Zeke Clark to capture the singles title at the 2018 ITA Midwest Regional Championship on Monday afternoon. This is an enormous feat for the New York native, who previously had his highest finish at the 2017 ITA Midwest Regionals during the Round of 16.
"It was a good tournament for the both of them," said head coach Brad Dancer. It is the first time I could sit back and watch an ITA Regional final. The last time this happened was 2002, which is an impressive feat for our guys."
This marks 16 years since two Illini have faced off in an ITA Regional Championships – the last being in 2002 when Illini juniors Brian Wilson and Phil Stolt both advanced to the finals. Unlike this hard-fought match, Wilson withdrew due to injury, automatically declaring Stolt the winner.
"Aleks (Kovacevic) does not always understand his own strengths," noted Dancer. "He did a superb job playing to his strengths as well as not worrying about his opponent."
The semifinals were a Big Ten affair as Clark and Kovacevic faced a pair of highly touted Buckeyes. Clark easily defeated Ohio State's No. 1 seed Martin Joyce 6-4, 6-4. While Kovacevic breezed through his semis against Ohio State freshman James Trotter with a pair of 6-4's.
"Martin (Joyce) is a great player, said Clark. "Our team has played against him many times. Whenever you are able to beat someone from Ohio State, it is always going to be a great win."
In the final match, both juniors fought extremely hard throughout with Kovacevic capturing the first set, 6-4, and Clark coming back to win the second set, 7-5. Kovacevic won the third and final set, 6-3, to clinch the title.
"It feels good to win," said Kovacevic. "I have been struggling with the fall season, the past few years. To come out and win any tournament is a huge boost to my confidence going forward."
"I am happy to make the finals," noted Clark. "With being a competitor, you always want to win. If you are going to lose to somebody, I am happy to lose to a teammate."
This marks the third Illini to win the singles title at the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships. Kovacevic joins Stolt (2002) and former All-American Ryler DeHeart (2004) as the only Illini to accomplish this feat.
"I have been putting more emphasis on taking one match at a time, instead of worrying about the outcome," noted Kovacevic.
By virtue of reaching the regional final, Kovacevic and Clark will receive automatic berths in the 64-player Oracle ITA National Fall Championships to be held in Surprise, Ariz. from Nov. 7-11. They join sophomore Alex Brown, who already received a spot after finishing as a singles semifinalist at the ITA All-American Championships two weeks ago.
Last season, both Kovacevic and Clark finished undefeated in Big Ten play. Kovacevic had an overall singles record of 25-9, while Clark had a winning record of 21-7.
Next up, the Fighting Illini travel to Ann Arbor for the Big Ten Singles and Doubles Championship and Finemark FGCU Collegiate Open starting Thursday. Following this week, the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships will take place Nov. 7-11 in Surprise, Ariz.
ITA Midwest Regionals – Monday Results
Oct 17-22, 2018 at Eck Tennis Pavilion
Singles
Final
No. 4 Kovacevic def. No. 6 Clark 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Semifinals
No. 6 Clark def. No. 1 Martin Joyce (Ohio State) 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 Kovacevic def. No. 16 James Trotter (Ohio State) 6-4, 6-4
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