#20 Illinois Falls to #3 Ohio State Away From Home

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 20 Illinois fell on the road in its final nonconference contest of the regular season, dropping its dual at No. 3 Ohio State, 4-0, at Ty Tucker Tennis Center on Wednesday night.

The Fighting Illini moved to 6-4 ahead of their Big Ten opener on Friday night.

"Ohio State is a very talented team. They've got great players up and down the lineup. I give them a ton of credit," said head coach Brad Dancer. "We know there's a very good Nebraska team coming to town on Friday, so we have to shift our focus immediately to that match."

In doubles play, the Illini took the first match of the night behind a win at No. 3. Teaming up for the first time in dual play, Mathis Debru and Jeremy Zhang broke in the fifth game before fighting off break points in both the sixth and eighth games. Holding the rest of the way, Debru and Zhang posted a 6-4 decision over Ohio State's Bryce Nakashima/Jack Anthrop and were the first match to finish.

The Buckeyes battled back by taking the remaining two matches at No. 1 and 2, giving the home side the doubles point and an early 1-0 edge.

Ohio State ultimately sealed the win with victories at No. 1, 2, and 5 singles. All three unfinished matches were in the third set.

Results: No. 3 Ohio State 4, No. 20 Illinois 0

Doubles
No. 1: Brandon Carpico/Nikita Filin (Ohio State) def. Tyler Bowers/Zach Viiala (Illinois), 7-5
No. 2: Will Jansen/Alex Bernard (Ohio State) def. Kenta Miyoshi/William Mroz (Illinois), 6-3
No. 3: Mathis Debru/Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) def. Bryce Nakashima/Jack Anthrop (Ohio State), 6-4

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles
No. 1: No. 10 Aidan Kim (Ohio State) def. No. 12 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-0, 6-0 
No. 2: No. 50 Alex Bernard (Ohio State) def. No. 48 William Mroz (Illinois), 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
No. 3: Tyler Bowers (Illinois) vs. No. 74 Jack Anthrop (Ohio State), 6-2, 2-6, 3-3, unfinished
No. 4: Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) vs. Will Jansen (Ohio State), 2-6, 6-3, 2-2, unfinished
No. 5: Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) def. Mathis Debru (Illinois), 6-1, 6-4
No. 6: Zach Viiala (Illinois) vs. Preston Stearns (Ohio State), 4-6, 7-5, unfinished

Order of finish: 1, 5, 2

Next Up

No. 20 Illinois opens its Big Ten slate with two matches at Atkins Tennis Center, starting with a conference clash against Nebraska on Friday at 5 p.m. CT before welcoming Wisconsin on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT.