CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois returns to Atkins Tennis Center for its home opener from Jan. 17-19, when the Fighting Illini host No. 8 Columbia and Boise State for the Fighting Illini Invite. Competition will feature singles and doubles play along with hidden duals across three days of jam-packed action.
The three programs will begin the weekend on Friday morning at 10 a.m. CT with a doubles tournament, which is set to include four doubles tandems from each participating institution. Following an assortment of singles matches between players from all three schools, Illinois will play its hidden dual on Friday at 5 p.m. CT against student-athletes from Boise State and Columbia.
The Lions will play their hidden dual on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT, while the Broncos' hidden dual is set for Sunday morning. Mix-and-match singles matches will take place throughout the day on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Illini host Boise State and Columbia after opening their spring schedule with a trip to Arizona for the Sun Devil Preseason Invite. Along with playing singles and doubles matches against Arizona State and Texas A&M, the Orange and Blue took part in training sessions and team-bonding activities during their time in the Grand Canyon State.
Illinois is led by head coach Brad Dancer, who is in his 20th season at the helm of the program.
ABOUT BOISE STATE, COLUMBIA
The Lions, ranked No. 8 in the first ITA team rankings of 2025, will make their first trip to Champaign-Urbana this week. Going 23-4 during its 2024 slate, Columbia advanced to the Elite Eight at the NCAA Team Tournament last season. Junior Michael Zheng, the top-ranked Division I player in the country, won the NCAA Singles Championship in November after finishing as a runner-up one year earlier.
Boise State arrives at Atkins for their spring season opener after posting a 20-11 mark in 2024. The Broncos are coming off a campaign in which they earned a share of the Mountain West regular season title before winning their conference tournament in dominant fashion, though they fell to No. 11 Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
FIGHTING ILLINI INVITE SCHEDULE (TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Friday, January 17
10 a.m. CT
Doubles tournament (four doubles teams per school, sets to six)
2 p.m. CT
Singles matches: Columbia, Boise State, Illinois
5 p.m. CT
Illinois hidden dual: Illinois vs. 1/2 Columbia & 1/2 Boise
Extra singles matches to followÂ
Saturday, January 18
12 p.m. CT
Columbia hidden dual: Columbia vs. 1/2 Boise & 1/2 IllinoisÂ
3 p.m. CT
Singles matches: Columbia, Boise State, Illinois
5 p.m. CT
Extra singles matches to follow
Sunday, January 19
9 a.m. CT
Boise State hidden dual: Boise State vs. 1/2 Columbia & 1/2 Illinois
1 p.m. CT
Extra singles matches to follow
PLAYERS IN THE ITA RANKINGS
Team
- No. 8: Columbia
- Receiving Votes: Illinois
Singles
- No. 1: Michael Zheng (Columbia)
- No. 14: Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois)
- No. 30: William Mroz (Illinois)
- No. 33: Hugo Hashimoto (Columbia)
- No. 42: Nicolas Kotzen (Columbia)
- No. 111: Jett Middleton (Boise State)
Doubles
- No. 18: Hugo Hashimoto/Michael Zheng (Columbia)
- No. 35: Nicolas Kotzen/Max Westphal (Columbia)
- No. 52: Tyler Bowers/Zach Viiala (Illinois)
- No. 75: Hugo Hashimoto/Jayden Templeman (Columbia)
- No. 95: Carson Baker/Adam Duda (Boise State)
- No. 104: John Chin/James Van Herzeele (Boise State)
