URBANA, Ill. – No. 23 Illinois improved to 6-1 on its home courts this spring with a 4-2 win over USC on Sunday afternoon at Atkins Tennis Center.
The Fighting Illini, now 10-6 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play, won the doubles point before claiming wins on Courts 1, 2, and 4 in singles action to defeat the Trojans, who entered the contest at No. 26 in the ITA team rankings and were previously undefeated in Big Ten action.
The Illini used victories at No. 1 and 2 doubles to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles play. Overcoming a loss on Court 3, the Illini won the final two matches in progress to secure the doubles point for the fifth time in conference play.
Tyler Bowers and Kenta Miyoshi picked up their fourth consecutive triumph at No. 1 doubles, taking down USC's Tristan Bradley and Peter Makk, 6-4. After both sides held serve through the first nine games, Bowers and Miyoshi broke for the first time in the 10th game to seal their win.
The doubles point ultimately came down to Court 2, where Zach Viiala and William Mroz battled with the Trojans' Volodymyr Iakubenko and Oscar Weightman. With the sides knotted at 5-5, Viiala and Mroz held to take a 6-5 advantage. Down 0-40 in the 12th game, the Illini tandem won the next four points to complete a 7-5 victory and give the Illini a 1-0 edge in the dual.
Playing at No. 4 singles for the first time in his career, Viiala doubled the Orange and Blue's advantage with a straight-set decision against Matteo Morazzi. The Illini redshirt freshman broke in the third and fifth games to claim the first set before breaking in the fifth and seventh games of the second frame to secure a 6-2, 6-2 victory. The straight-set win saw him improve to 4-2 in conference play and 7-2 in dual action.
The Trojans picked up a win at No. 6 to cut their deficit in half before Will Mroz claimed a straight-set victory on Court 2 over No. 108 Nathan Trouve for Mroz's third ranked triumph of the spring. After going down by two breaks in the first set and facing a 5-1 deficit, Mroz won the next four games by breaking twice to tie the set at 5-5. Ultimately going to a first-set tiebreak, the Illini redshirt freshman won the final three points to claim the opening frame, 7-6(5). A break in the sixth game of the second set proved the difference in his 6-3 decision in the frame.
USC found an answer at No. 5 singles, but Illinois clinched with Miyoshi's win on Court 1, defeating No. 30 Peter Makk for his fifth ranked victory in dual play. After getting broken early, Miyoshi tied the first set at 4-4 with a break in the eighth game before breaking for a second time in the 12th game to take the frame, 7-5. A break in the sixth game helped Miyoshi go ahead, 4-2, before holding the rest of the way for a 6-3 second-set triumph.
Results: No. 23 Illinois 4, No. 26 USC 2
Doubles
No. 1: Tyler Bowers/Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. Tristan Bradley/Peter Makk (USC), 6-4
No. 2: Zach Viiala/William Mroz (Illinois) def. Volodymyr Iakubenko/Oscar Weightman (USC), 7-5
No. 3: Matteo Morazzi/Nathan Trouve (USC) def. Mathis Debru/Max Mroz (Illinois), 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
No. 1: No. 16 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. No. 30 Peter Makk (USC), 7-5, 6-3
No. 2: No. 62 William Mroz (Illinois) def. No. 108 Nathan Trouve (USC), 7-6(5), 6-3
No. 3: Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) vs. Volodymyr Iakubenko (USC), 4-6, 2-5, unfinished
No. 4: Zach Viiala (Illinois) def. Matteo Morazzi (USC), 6-2, 6-2
No. 5: Karl Lee (USC) def. Mathis Debru (Illinois), 6-4, 7-5
No. 6: Connor Church (USC) def. Max Mroz (Illinois), 7-6(5), 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 6, 2, 5, 1
Next Up
No. 23 Illinois travels north for an in-state Big Ten battle against Northwestern away from home on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT.
