EUGENE, Ore. – Illinois suffered a narrow 4-3 road defeat to Oregon on Friday evening.
The first-ever meeting between the Illini and the Ducks came down to No. 2 singles, with UO successfully defending its home courts and improving to 12-12 overall and 4-8 in Big Ten play. The loss moved the Orange and Blue to 13-10 overall and 6-6 in league action.
The Ducks won the doubles point behind victories at No. 1 and 2. Max Mroz and William Mroz, playing together for the first time at the collegiate level, posted a 6-4 triumph at No. 3 doubles against Vlad Breazu and Clement Lemire, though Oregon entered singles action with a 1-0 edge.
Kenta Miyoshi was the first to finish in singles action. Facing No. 104 Lenn Luemkemann on the top singles court, Miyoshi posted a 6-3, 6-1 triumph to improve to 7-2 in Big Ten play and secure the 17th ranked win of his junior campaign.
After Oregon retook the lead with a victory at No. 4, Mathis Debru evened the match once again with a straight-set decision at No. 6 singles. The Grenoble, France, native claimed a 6-4, 6-3 win to move to 15-9 overall and 7-4 against league opponents.
The Ducks went back in front via a win on Court 5, but Tyler Bowers quickly tied the match with a victory of his own. Bowers' 6-3, 7-6(4) triumph at No. 3 marked his second conference singles triumph of the season.
A two-set Oregon win at No. 2 singles ultimately sealed the 4-3 decision for the hosts.
Results: Oregon 4, Illinois 3
Doubles
No. 1: Lenn Luemkemann/Matthew Burton (Oregon) def. Kenta Miyoshi/Tyler Bowers (Illinois), 7-6(8)
No. 2: Paris Pouatcha/Lachlan Robertson (Oregon) def. Zach Viiala/Mathis Debru (Illinois), 7-5
No. 3: William Mroz/Max Mroz (Illinois) def. Vlad Breazu/Clement Lemire (Oregon), 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
No. 1: No. 14 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. No. 104 Lenn Luemkemann (Oregon), 6-3, 6-1
No. 2: No. 110 Vlad Breazu (Oregon) def. No. 76 William Mroz (Illinois), 6-4, 7-6(3)
No. 3: Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. Clement Lemire (Oregon), 6-3, 7-6(4)
No. 4: Matthew Burton (Oregon) def. Zach Viiala (Illinois), 6-2, 6-1
No. 5: Lachlan Robertson (Oregon) def. Jeremy Zhang (Illinois), 6-4, 6-2
No. 6: Mathis Debru (Illinois) def. Cooper Errey (Oregon), 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 4, 6, 5, 3, 2
Next Up
Illinois remains on the West Coast to take on Washington on Sunday in the team's regular-season finale. The Illini and the Huskies will square off in Seattle at 1 p.m. CT.
