LINCOLN, Neb. – Illinois claimed the outright Big Ten West Division title on Sunday afternoon after beating Nebraska 4-0. Senior Zeke Clark earned career singles win No. 100, becoming the 16th Illini to hit the milestone. Clark defeated Albert Sprlak-Puk of Nebraska 6-2, 6-0.
"Zeke Clark is an unbelievable young man and he won't care a thing about 100 wins because everything he does is for the team, all the time," said head coach Brad Dancer. "Illinois Tennis is incredibly lucky to have him."
The Illini captured their first Big Ten division championship to go along with 15 overall conference titles, the most recent coming in 2015. Illinois also earned the No. 1 seed in the West for the Big Ten Men's Tennis Championships.
"You have to go out and earn it and this crew has done that," said Dancer. "I'm super proud of this team, super proud of how they handled the ups and downs. They put themselves in this position. We've had a great year already and I know they are hungry for more."
Illinois won the doubles point against the Huskers with wins by Siphosothando Montsi/Noé Khlif and Zeke Clark/ Hunter Heck. Montsi and Khlif defeated Maruyama/ Wiedenhorn 6-3. Clark and Heck secured the doubles point defeating Cacciatore/Gleason 6-4.
Clark picked up the first singles win defeating Albert Sprlak-Puk 6-2, 6-0. Hunter Heck defeated Brandon Perez 6-1,6-4 to extend the lead. Alex Brown clinched Illinois' 12th-straight win by defeating William Gleason in straight sets (6-4, 6-3).
Illinois Notes
- Illinois extends their win streak to 12, the third-longest conference win streak in program history. It is also tied for the eighth-longest overall win streak.
- Zeke Clark won his 100th career singles match. He becomes the 16th Illini to reach the milestone.
- Zeke Clark remains undefeated this season and extends his winning streak to 14. Fourteen consecutive wins is tied for 12Â best in program history.
- Illinois earned the No. 1 seed in the West for the Big Ten Tournament
Up Next
The Illini have two remaining regular season matches. They face Northwestern next Sunday at noon before playing Indiana in a rescheduled match on April 24Â at 3 pm.
