LINCOLN, Neb. – Illini men's tennis defeated Indiana 4-0 in the Big Ten quarterfinals Friday afternoon. They won the doubles point before winning the first three singles matches.
"It's always good to advance in the Big Ten Tournament, the teams playing today were the top eight in the conference so its never going to be an easy match, said head coach Brad Dancer. "We had our challenges today and guys stepped up to overcome them. Now we play Michigan who we've played once this year already. We'll looking forward to a great battle with them tomorrow."
Alex Brown and Zeke Clark moved to 11-1 on the year defeating Patrick Fletchall/Andrew Redding 6-2 before Hunter Heck and Aleks Kovacevic secured the doubles point winning 6-2 over William Piekarsky/Ilya Tiraspolsky.
Noe Khlif picked up the first singles match point for the Illini. He defeated Patrick Fletchall 6-1, 6-4 at No. 6. Hunter Heck followed, defeating Ilya Tiraspolsky 6-3, 6-2 on court five.
"It was amazing to get that first win, and to quell the nerves a little bit, said Heck. "I think the team is confident and settled going into tomorrow."
Kovacevic clinched the match for the Orange and Blue. He defeated Bennett Crane 6-3, 6-2 on court one.
"It felt great to go out and get a quick win to start the tournament especially in this heat," said Kovacevic. "It was a good way to start the tourney."
Up Next
Illinois will face Michigan tomorrow at 2 pm CT in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Earlier this season the Illini defeated the Wolverines 5-2 in Champaign.
