MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The No. 15 Fighting Illini men's tennis team battled back in singles play to defeat the Minnesota Gophers, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Illinois improves to 15-7 overall this season, including a 9-1 conference record. The Illini still lead the overall series, 43-33.
The Golden Gophers clinched the doubles point with wins in the No. 2 and 3 positions. Illinois responded back with five singles wins. Junior Vuk Budic was the first one off the court with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Eli Ogilvy. Tied at 1-1, the Gophers took the lead after a win on court five. On a three-match winning streak, junior Zeke Clark defeated Marino Alpeza in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
Junior No. 8 Aleks Kovacevic gave the Illini the lead after defeating No. 85 Josip Krstanovic, 7-6 (5), 6-4, on court one. In his first career clincher, Siphosothando Montsi, won the match for the Orange and Blue with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Jackson Allen. No. 54 Alex Brown capped off the match with a three-set victory over Stefan Milicevic, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7), on court two.
"We showed toughness today, but also showed our immaturity," said head coach Brad Dancer. "It will be interesting to see which of those sides comes out tomorrow."Â
Up next, the Illini will conclude the regular season in Madison, Wis. against the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT. Dating back to 2011, the Illini are on an eight-match winning streak against the Badgers. Last season, the Illini came back in singles play to win the match, 5-2. Aleks Kovacevic clinched the match for Illinois with a gritty, 6-4, 7-5 win on court four. Illinois leads the overall series, 59-29.
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