EVANSTON, Ill. - No. 23-ranked Fighting Illini men's tennis (15-9) fell to Northwestern (15-7), 4-3, in a back-and-forth battle at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill. Saturday afternoon.
"Big credit to Northwestern," head coach Brad Dancer said, "They have a good team. Our fans came out and gave us a great atmosphere. We didn't do a good job of keeping the pressure on the guys in spots where we had leads. The bottom line is that we have to be better -- significantly better."
Dancer is now 24-2 against the Wildcats after this loss.
The Illini started off the match losing the doubles point, with Steven Forman and Simen Bratholm defeating No. 41-ranked duo Hunter Heck and Karlis Ozolins, 6-2, marking the pair's first loss this season.
No. 54-ranked pairing Oliver Okonkwo and Mathis Debru came up with a 6-2 win over No. 74 Ivan Yatsuk and Gleb Blekher.
Trice Pickens and Natan Spear, however, clinched the doubles point for the Wildcats, defeating Alex Petrov and Kenta Miyoshi, 6-3.
Okonkwo made quick work of Presley Thieneman to start off singles play, defeating the Wildcat, 6-3, 6-2. Heck was right behind him, defeating Forman 6-3, 6-3.
Ozolins and William Mroz both lost their matches in succession – Ozolins 7-5, 6-3 to Yatsuk and Mroz, 7-5, 6-4 to Pickens.
Petrov then had an impressive come-from-behind win over Bratholm, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5. After forcing a third set, Nic Meister dropped his match to Blekher, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (1), 6-1, for Northwestern to clinch the match.
Up next
The Illini will return to Champaign for the final matches of the season, facing Wisconsin for Mom's Day on April 14 at 6 p.m. CT and Nebraska for Senior Day on April 16 at 12 p.m. CT
Results
Doubles competition
1. Steven Forman/Simen Bratholm (NU) def. #41 Hunter Heck/Karlis Ozolins (ILL) 6-2
2. #54 Mathis Debru/Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) def. #74 Ivan Yatsuk/Gleb Blekher (NU) 6-2
3. Trice Pickens/Natan Spear (NU) def. Kenta Miyoshi/Alex Petrov (ILL) 6-3
Singles competition
1. Ivan Yatsuk (NU) def. #38 Karlis Ozolins (ILL) 7-5, 6-3
2. Hunter Heck (ILL) def. #54 Steven Forman (NU) 6-3, 6-3
3. #97 Alex Petrov (ILL) def. Simen Bratholm (NU) 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
4. Trice Pickens (NU) def. William Mroz (ILL) 7-5, 6-4
5. Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) def. Presley Thieneman (NU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Gleb Blekher (NU) def. Nic Meister (ILL) 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (1-7), 6-1
