URBANA, Ill. – The No. 15 Illini men's tennis team extends their winning streak to eight over the Hoosiers on Sunday afternoon at Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois defeated Indiana 6-1 to extend the overall series, 48-44. The Orange and Blue go undefeated in Big Ten play (2-0), while maintaining a 7-5 overall record on the season.
"Indiana has a good team and they fought and tested us today," said head coach Brad Dancer.
Illinois had the advantage early 1-0, picking up the doubles point. Â Junior duo Aleks Kovacevic and freshman Keenan Mayo started the match with a 6-3 victory over Zac Brodney and Bennett Crane. For the third time this season, junior Vuk Budic and redshirt sophomore Gui Gomes clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 victory over Antonio Cembellin and Patrick Fletchall.
Giving a spark to the singles lineup, junior Noe Khlif was the first one off the court with a 6-2, 6-1 win at the No. 6 position. This gave the French native his fourth singles win of the season. In straight sets, sophomore Caleb Chakravarthi produced a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Andrew Redding. At the No. 1 position, junior Aleks Kovacevic clinched his second match of the season with straight sets, 6-4, 6-4 win against Antonio Cembellin.
After the 4-0 win, both teams continued play until the last match. Sophomore Alex Brown won a second set tiebreaker, 7-6(3), to defeat Bennett Crane, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). Extending the Illini win to 6-1, junior Zeke Clark battled back to sweep the second set, 6-0, and win the third set tiebreaker, 10-7.
"On the weekend, it's great to start Big Ten play with two victories," noted Dancer. "The third-year guys – Zeke (Clark), Aleks (Kovacevic), Gui (Gomes), Vuk (Budic), and Noe (Khlif) – did a great job leading all weekend."
The No. 15 Fighting Illini men's tennis team closes its non-conference slate against two ranked teams in the Sunshine State.
Illinois will start its Florida tour in Gainesville against the No. 9 Florida Gators on Wednesday, March 20 at 1 p.m. CT. The Illini make its return to Gator Nation after seven years, leading the overall series, 11-7. Associate head coach Marcos Asse is a former gator that contributed to the 2000 SEC Championship team.
"We already got beat once by Florida this year, so we know that will be a significant challenge, especially at their place," said Dancer.
For the first time in program history, the Orange and Blue will face UCF in a contest on Friday, March 22 at 11 a.m. CT in Orlando, Fla.
Illinois Notes
- The Illini earned their eighth consecutive win over the Hoosiers, extending the overall series to 48-44.
- Opening up conference play this weekend, Illinois goes 2-0 in Big Ten play.
- For the third time this season, junior Vuk Budic and redshirt sophomore Gui Gomes clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 victory over Antonio Cembellin and Patrick Fletchall.
- Junior Noe Khlif's 6-2, 6-1 victory over Vikash Singh gave the French native his fourth singles win of the season. His overall singles record this season is 4-1.
- Junior Aleks Kovacevic clinched his second match of the season with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Antonio Cembellin.
- Kovacevic remains undefeated in singles play with an 8-0 record.
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