LINCOLN, Neb. – The Fighting Illini are the 2021 Big Ten Tournament Champions. They held off Ohio State winning the match 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. The match came down to court four, where senior Zeke Clark defeated Kyle Seelig in a third set tiebreaker, the second breaker of the match.
"It was a great tennis match, we were better in doubles today and credit to Ohio State, they have really great players throughout their lineup," said head coach Brad Dancer. "I'm super proud of the guys and exhausted, that was a great college tennis match that lasted a long time."
Gallery: (5-2-2021) Illinois vs. Ohio State (BTT) - 5/2/21
Illinois started out the day with momentum in doubles, they were leading on all courts when play was stopped. Siphosothando Montsi and Noe Khlif finished first, defeating Cannon Kingsley and Kyle Seelig 6-2. Hunter Heck and Aleks Kovacevic clinched on court three, beating JJ Tracy and Justin Boulais 6-4. Zeke Clark and Alex Brown were up 5-4 at the end of doubles.
Ohio State won the first two singles matches on courts two and three making the score 2-1 Ohio State. On court five, Hunter Heck showed his fight against JJ Tracy. Heck turned it around after losing the first set 0-6 to win the second 6-3. In the third set Heck found himself down 3-1 but fought back to win 7-5.
Ohio State would pick up another singles point on court one. Noe Khlif tied the match at 3-3 defeating Robert Cash 4-6,6-3,7-5.
"The fact that Hunter was down 6-0 and somehow turns it and Noe is playing in his nemesis type match, they were both just tough as nails out there," said Dancer.
All eyes were on Zeke Clark and the final match of the day against Kyle Seelig. Clark went down early, losing the first set tie breaker 6-7(7) before winning 6-3 in the second. Clark had the lead early in the third but Seelig hung around. Clark would outlast him to win the match 6-7(7),6-3,7-6(4). Clark would be named the tournament MVP and Aleks Kovacevic would be named to the All-Tournament team.
"I don't even know what to say about Zeke Clark. It was almost like a destiny for him to win, it just had to come down to him, said Dancer.
It's been a long time coming, it's always a battle with the buckeyes," said Clark. "The reason I came back for my fifth year was today, to be able to play for a Championship and to beat Ohio State. To be the guy to clinch, I can't even put into words how I feel."
UP NEXT
The Illini will learn their NCAA Regional location and seeding during the NCAA Selection Show at 5:30 CT on Monday evening. The singles and doubles tournament will be released on Tuesday.
