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Box Score 2
WACO, Texas – No. 16 Illinois split its doubleheader against UTRGV and No. 17 Baylor at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas, on Saturday. The Fighting Illini opened the day with a 4-0 sweep against the Vaqueros before dropping the nightcap, 4-1, to the ranked Bears.
The Fighting Illini moved to 6-3 on the season, while they dropped to 1-3 against ranked opposition this spring.
Kenta Miyoshi went 2-0 in singles on the day, improving to 7-1 in dual play while securing his fourth ranked victory of the dual slate.
"Hats off to Baylor. They played the big points better than we did," said head coach Brad Dancer. "A few things stand out. We have to locate serves better and improve serve consistency in doubles. We have to start making some different mistakes in singles. Winning and losing will happen, but we have to eradicate making the same mistakes. Time to shift our focus to another very tough opponent in Ohio State on Wednesday."
No. 16 Illinois 4, UTRGV 0
The Illini claimed the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and 2. On Court 1, Tyler Bowers and Zach Viiala broke in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. Holding the rest of the way before breaking again in the eighth game, Bowers/Viiala registered a dominant 6-2 victory for their first doubles triumph since the opening dual of the spring.
Going behind by two breaks and facing an early 3-0 deficit at No. 2 doubles, Kenta Miyoshi and William Mroz bounced back by breaking in the fourth game. With UTRGV serving for the match in the 10th game, Miyoshi and Mroz broke again to even the score at 5-5. Holding serve in the 11th game, the Illini tandem broke for the third and final time in the 12th game to take their match, 7-5, and secure the doubles point for the Orange and Blue.
Jeremy Zhang extended Illinois' advantage with a straight-set decision at No. 3 singles. Breaking three times en route to a 6-0 first-set victory, Zhang broke three times again in the second frame to tally a 6-0, 6-0 triumph, his second win of the dual season.
Bowers was not far behind at No. 4 singles. The Illini redshirt sophomore also broke three times in the first frame, posting a 6-0 triumph in the opening set. He carried that momentum into the next set, ultimately closing out his match in dominant fashion with a 6-0, 6-1 triumph.
With the Illini within one point of clinching, Miyoshi finished things off at No. 1 singles. The Japan native quickly claimed the opening frame, and he served as the clinching point for the third time this season with his 6-1, 6-2 victory.
The sweep, the Illini's first of the season, marked Illinois' fifth-consecutive win and saw the team improve to 6-2 this spring.
Results: No. 16 Illinois 4, UTRGV 0
Doubles
No. 1: Tyler Bowers/Zach Viiala (Illinois) def. Santiago Serrano/Loic Young Kriegel (UTRGV), 6-2
No. 2: Kenta Miyoshi/William Mroz (Illinois) def. Paolo Bonaguro/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV), 7-5
No. 3: Mathis Debru/Max Mroz (Illinois) vs. Ivo Isqueiro/Eduardo Menezes (UTRGV), 6-6, unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
No. 1: No. 12 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV), 6-1, 6-2
No. 2: No. 45 William Mroz (Illinois) vs. Ivo Isqueiro (UTRGV), 6-4, 1-0, unfinished
No. 3: Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) def. Paolo Bonaguro (UTRGV), 6-0, 6-0
No. 4: No. 119 Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. Santiago Serrano (UTRGV), 6-0, 6-1
No. 5: Zach Viiala (Illinois) vs. Loic Young Kriegel (UTRGV), 6-3, 2-0, unfinished
No. 6: Mathis Debru (Illinois) vs. Eduardo Menezes (UTRGV), 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
Order of finish: 3, 4, 1
No. 17 Baylor 4, No. 16 Illinois 1
Baylor took a 1-0 lead into singles play after taking the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and 2.
Miyoshi got the Illini on the board with a straight-set win at No. 1 singles over Baylor's No. 35 Devin Badenhorst. After fighting off a break point in the fifth game, Miyoshi broke serve for the first time in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead in the opening set. With both players holding serve the rest of the way, Miyoshi claimed the first frame, 6-3.
Breaking in the first and fifth games of the second set, Miyoshi prevailed, 6-4, for his sixth consecutive singles win.
The Illini ultimately fell at No. 3, 4, and 6, with the Bears' victory on Court 6 clinching the match for the home side.
Results: No. 17 Baylor 4, No. 16 Illinois 1
Doubles
No. 1: No. 12 Oskar Brostrom Poulsen/Marko Miladinovic (Baylor) def. Tyler Bowers/Zach Viiala (Illinois), 6-3
No. 2: Devin Badenhorst/Luc Koenig (Baylor) def. Kenta Miyoshi/William Mroz (Illinois), 6-4
No. 3: Mathis Debru/Max Mroz (Illinois) vs. Louis Bowden/Zsombor Velcz (Baylor), 4-5, unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
No. 1: No. 12 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. No. 35 Devin Badenhorst (Baylor), 6-3, 6-4
No. 2: No. 45 William Mroz (Illinois) vs. No. 86 Oskar Brostrom Poulsen (Baylor), 6-3, 3-6, 4-2, unfinished
No. 3: Zsombor Velcz (Baylor) def. Jeremy Zhang (Illinois), 6-2, 6-3
No. 4: Alexandru Chirita (Baylor) def. No. 119 Tyler Bowers (Illinois), 6-2, 6-3
No. 5: Zach Viiala (Illinois) vs. Louis Bowden (Baylor), 7-6(5), 5-2, unfinished
No. 6: Marko Miladinovic (Baylor) def. Mathis Debru (Illinois), 7-5, 7-6(3)
Order of finish: 1, 4, 3, 6
Next Up
No. 16 Illinois closes its nonconference schedule on the road against No. 3 Ohio State on Wednesday evening. The ranked matchup between the Fighting Illini and the Buckeyes is slated for 5 p.m. CT at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.
