Four Singles Wins Send Illinois to Road Victory Over North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Illinois closed its two-match road trip to the Tar Heel State with a 4-2 victory over North Carolina at the Chewning Tennis Center on Saturday evening.

Despite dropping the doubles point, the Fighting Illini fought back in singles play with victories at No. 1, 2, 4, and 5 to post their second road win and improve to 2-2 on the season.

"What a great culture win today," said head coach Brad Dancer. "We have a number of guys on our team who have immense pride in themselves and the university and team they represent. No matter what, there are always circumstances to navigate in any contest, especially a road match. We know we have to get better, and this is a group that looks forward to that challenge. We cannot wait to get home and play in front of our amazing fans again."

William Mroz and Jeremy Zhang remained undefeated in dual play in 2025 with a quick 6-2 victory over UNC's Constantinos Djakouris and Nick Mangiapane at No. 3 doubles, though the Tar Heels responded with wins at No. 1 and 2 to secure the doubles point and take an early 1-0 lead.

Mathis Debru tied the dual at 1-1 with a dominant straight-set win at No. 5 singles. After breaking on the second and fourth games of the opening set, Debru broke serve twice in the second frame to cruise to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over the Tar Heels' Mangiapane.

No. 30 William Mroz returned to the win column with his second ranked victory of the spring, a result that gave the Orange and Blue the lead for the first time. Mroz broke No. 112 Vladislav Melnic's serve in the third and seventh games of the first set before breaking in the third and fifth games of the second to secure a 6-2, 6-2 triumph at No. 2 singles.

After North Carolina tied the match at 2-2 with a win at No. 3 singles, Illinois pulled back in front via Tyler Bowers' straight-set ranked decision over No. 68 Anthony Wright at No. 4. Bowers broke serve twice within the first three games of the opening frame, and he began the second set with another break in the first game. Both players broke each other's serves late in the set, but Bowers prevailed, 6-2, 6-4, for his second ranked win in as many days.

At No.1 singles, No. 14 Kenta Miyoshi fell behind by two breaks to UNC's Djakouris in the first set, with the Tar Heel junior serving for the set in both the eighth and 10th games. Miyoshi battled back by winning the next four games before going to a first-set tiebreaker, which he claimed to complete the comeback and take the opening set, 7-6(4).

In a back-and-forth second set, Miyoshi eventually prevailed, 7-6(3), to clinch his match and the team victory for the Illini.

Illinois returns to action on Feb. 15 with a doubleheader against Clemson and Notre Dame at Atkins Tennis Center for the team's first home dual matches of the spring. The Illini will take on the Tigers at 11 a.m. CT before facing the Fighting Irish at 6 p.m. CT.

RESULTS

Doubles
No. 1: Vladislav Melnic/Chris Xu (UNC) def. Mathis Debru/Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-3 
No. 2: Diego Jarry/Anthony Wright (UNC) def. No. 52 Tyler Bowers/Zach Viiala (Illinois), 6-4 
No. 3: William Mroz/Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) def. Constantinos Djakouris/Nick Mangiapane (UNC), 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles
No. 1: No. 14 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. Constantinos Djakouris (UNC), 7-6(4), 7-6(3)
No. 2: No. 30 William Mroz (Illinois) def. No. 112 Vladislav Melnic (UNC), 6-2, 6-2
No. 3: No. 80 Chris Xu (UNC) def. Jeremy Zhang (Illinois), 6-4, 6-1
No. 4: Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. No. 68 Anthony Wright (UNC), 6-2, 6-4
No. 5: Mathis Debru (Illinois) def. Nick Mangiapane (UNC), 6-1, 6-2
No. 6: Zach Viiala (Illinois) vs. Diego Jarry (UNC), 6-7(8), 6-1, 5-0, unf.

Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 4, 1