Match 20 and 21: Illinois vs. Michigan, Michigan State
The No. 8 Fighting Illini men's tennis team returns to the Atkins Tennis Center this weekend to host a pair of Big Ten opponents. The Illini will welcome No. 11 Michigan for a Top-15 matchup on Saturday. On Sunday, the Orange and Blue host head coach Brad Dancer's alma mater, Michigan State. Both first serves are set for noon.
Match Points
- Michigan is the 11th ITA-ranked opponent the Illini will face in 2018.
- Illinois has won 25-straight matches against Michigan State. The Illini's last loss in the series was on March 23, 1997.
Vukic and Hiltzik boast incredible numbers against Big Ten opponents. The pair are a combined 55-4 in singles all-time versus Big Ten foes. Vukic's last loss against a Big Ten player was on April 17, 2015, good for a 25-match winning streak.
Sophomore Success: Kovacevic Rolling in 2018
Sophomore Aleks Kovacevic has picked up right where he left off in 2018. The New York native is 9-1 in singles since February 2 at Duke. Aleks has won each of those matches in straight sets with three of them involving a tiebreaker. Kovacevic clinched the Illinois victories at Duke and against Florida.
Brown Garners Second-Straight B1G Weekly Honor
Freshman Alex Brown was named the Big Ten Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week for the second-straight week on March 13. The Urbandale, Iowa, native earned his third B1G weekly honor after a 4-0 week against Notre Dame and Northwestern. The three weekly honors matches the most by an Illinois freshman in program history. Former Illini All-American, Jared Hiltzik, garnered three B1G weekly honors during his freshman campaign in 2013, which is also the last time a conference freshman won three weekly awards in a single season.
Vukic Reaches 100 Career Singles Wins
Vukic earned his 100th career singles victory on March 2 against TCU's Trevor Johnson. Vukic grinded out a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4) win to become Illinois' 15th men's tennis player to reach 100 career singles wins and the first since former three-time All-American, Jared Hiltzik, in 2015. The Sydney, Australia native, won his first singles match at the Southern Intercollegiates in Athens, Georgia on September 12, 2014. Vukic bested Kennesaw State's Simon Pritchard, 6-3, 6-4. Over the next 1,268 days, Vukic won 99 more singles matches.
Follow the Illini
FightingIllini.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
