Box Score  | Aleks Vukic Post-Match Interview | Brad Dancer Post-Match Interview | Highlights

URBANA, Ill. – The No. 9 Fighting Illini men's tennis team defeated the TCU Horned Frogs, 5-2 on Friday night at the Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois improves to 7-4 overall this season.

The freshman doubles pair of Alex Brown and Caleb Chakravarthi got Illinois started in doubles play with a 6-0 sweep of Johnson and Kurzban. After a loss on court two, Illini seniors Aron Hiltzik and Aleks Vukic clinched the point, 6-4 on court one over Gray and Stalder.

Sophomore Aleks Kovacevic earned his seventh-straight singles win with a 6-4, 3-0, ret. victory on court four. The Illini freshmen took care of the rest. Chakravarti defeated Eduardo Roldan, 6-1, 6-2. Brown clinched the match, 7-5, 6-3 over No. 27-ranked, Alastair Gray on court three. Senior Aleks Vukic was the final team point for the Illini with a gritty, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4) win against No. 47 Trevor Johnson. The match win is Vukic's 100^th career singles win in the Orange and Blue.

Up next, the Illini will compete against the 2017 NCAA Champions, Virginia, at noon on Sunday at the Atkins Tennis Center.

Illinois Notes

• Illinois defeated TCU for the first time since March 12, 2008.
• Vukic secured his 100^th career singles win on Friday night. He is the 15^th Illinois men's tennis player to reach 100 career singles wins and the first since former three-time All-American, Jared Hiltzik, in 2015.
• Hiltzik and Vukic clinched their first doubles points of the season. Illinois has clinched the doubles point eight times this season.
• Kovacevic extended his singles winning streak to seven matches.
• Brown earned his first ranked singles win.

Final Results

#9 Illinois 5, TCU 2

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

1. Vukic/Hiltzik (Illinois) def. Gray/Stalder (TCU) 6-4
2. #57 Nunez/Rybakov (TCU) 6-2 def. Clark/Kovacevic (Illinois) 6-2
3. Brown/Chakravarthi (Illinois) def. Johnson/Kurzban (TCU) 6-0

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

1. #23 Aleks Vukic (Illinois) def. #47 Trevor Johnson (TCU) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4)
2. #42 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #97 Aron Hiltzik (Illinois) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0(10)
3. #116 Alex Brown (Illinois) def. #27 Alastair Gray (TCU) 7-5, 6-3
4. Aleks Kovacevic (Illinois) def. Guillermo Nunez (TCU) 6-4, 3-0, ret.
5. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. #83 Zeke Clark (Illinois) 4-6, 7-6(5), 1-0(7)
6. Caleb Chakravarthi (Illinois) def. Eduardo Roldan (TCU) 6-1, 6-2

Records: Illinois (7-4) | TCU (6-3)

Follow the Illini
FightingIllini.com  | Facebook  | Twitter  | Instagram