EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 23 Illinois secured two sweeps in its doubleheader against Northwestern and Chicago State on Saturday. The Fighting Illini began the afternoon with a 4-0 road win over the Wildcats in Big Ten play before recording a 4-0 victory over Chicago State to close the day.
The two triumphs helped the Orange and Blue improve to 12-6 overall this season. The win over Northwestern moved the Illini's conference record to 5-2 heading into the back half of Illinois' Big Ten regular-season slate.
"First off, a huge thank you to all of the alumni and supporters who came out. You made it feel like a home match, and our guys capitalized on that support," said head coach Brad Dancer. "It's always great to get a Big Ten road win, and we look forward to the challenges next week against two really good teams in Michigan and Michigan State."
No. 23 Illinois 4, No. 65 Northwestern 0
The Illini established a 1-0 advantage in the dual after winning the doubles point for the sixth time in their last seven matches. William Mroz and Zach Viiala were the first to finish, improving to 6-1 as a duo via a 6-2 win over Saiprakash Goli and Greyson Casey at No. 2 doubles. Mathis Debru and Max Mroz ultimately secured the doubles point via a 7-6(4) victory at No. 3 doubles, which saw the pair pick up their first triumph as a tandem in Big Ten action.
Making his second consecutive appearance at No. 4 singles, Viiala continued his winning ways with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Northwestern's Max Bergtsson. The straight-set victory moved him to 5-2 in singles play during the Illini's Big Ten slate, while he remained perfect on Court 4 with a 2-0 record at that position.
Kenta Miyoshi extended the Orange and Blue's lead with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Saiprakash Goli at the top singles court. Despite getting broken early and facing a 3-1 deficit, Miyoshi claimed the next five games to take the first frame. He then broke twice again in the second set en route to his 11th singles victory during dual play.
Will Mroz clinched the Illini's road triumph with a come-from-behind win at No. 2 singles. After dropping the opening set to Felix Nordby, Mroz bounced back by prevailing in the second frame. Breaking twice in the final set, Mroz completed his comeback with a 6-2 decision in the third frame, which saw him improve to 5-0 against conference competition.
Results: No. 23 Illinois 4, No. 65 Northwestern 0
Doubles
No. 1: Tyler Bowers/Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) vs. Felix Nordby/Chad Miller (Northwestern), 6-5, unfinished
No. 2: William Mroz/Zach Viiala (Illinois) def. Saiprakash Goli/Greyson Casey (Northwestern), 6-2
No. 3: Mathis Debru/Max Mroz (Illinois) def. Vincent Yang/Max Bengtsson (Northwestern), 7-6(4)
Order of finish: 2, 3Â
Singles
No. 1: No. 16 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. Saiprakash Goli (Northwestern), 6-3, 6-2
No. 2: No. 62 William Mroz (Illinois) def. Felix Nordby (Northwestern), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 3: Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) vs. Greyson Casey (Northwestern), 0-6, 7-6(7), 2-0, unfinished
No. 4: Zach Viiala (Illinois) def. Max Bengtsson (Northwestern), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5: Mathis Debru (Illinois) vs. Chad Miller (Northwestern), 7-6(0), 3-6, 2-1, unfinishedÂ
No. 6: Gabrielius Guzauskas (Illinois) vs. Vincent Yang (Northwestern), 4-6, 7-6(2), unfinished
Order of finish: 4, 1, 2
No. 23 Illinois 4, Chicago State 0
The Illini quickly claimed the doubles point. After the Cougars forfeited on Court 3, Tyler Bowers and Gabrielius Guzauskas posted a 6-0 victory at No. 2 doubles to give Illinois a 1-0 lead in the match.
Chicago State defaulted at No. 5 and 6 singles, which pushed the Orange and Blue's advantage up to 3-0. Max Mroz clinched the Illini victory with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win over Logan Daily on Court 4. His straight-set win marked his first singles triumph in dual play this season.
Results: No. 23 Illinois 4, Chicago State 0
Doubles
No. 1: Mathis Debru/Max Mroz (Illinois) vs. Chad Valdes/Reed Gahagan (Chicago State), 4-1, unfinished
No. 2: Tyler Bowers/Gabrielius Guzauskas (Illinois) def. Andrei Rares Negrut/Logan Daily (Chicago State), 6-0
No. 3: Jeremy Zhang/William Mroz (Illinois) win by default
Order of finish: 3, 2
Singles
No. 1: No. 16 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) vs. Chad Valdes (Chicago State), 5-2, unfinished
No. 2: Tyler Bowers (Illinois) vs. Reed Gagahan (Chicago State), 6-1, 2-0, unfinished
No. 3: Zach Viiala (Illinois) vs. Andrei Rares Negrut (Chicago State), 6-1, 2-0, unfinished
No. 4: Max Mroz (Illinois) def. Logan Daily (Chicago State), 6-0, 6-0
No. 5: Mathis Debru (Illinois), win by default
No. 6: Gabrielius Guzauskas (Illinois), win by default
Order of finish: 6, 5, 4
Next Up
No. 23 Illinois remains on the road for matches against Michigan and Michigan State next weekend. The Illini will play the No. 20-ranked Wolverines on Friday at 5 p.m. CT before facing the Spartans on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
