Box Score
SEATTLE – Illinois closed the regular season with a dominant road win over Washington, 6-1, at the Bill Quillian Tennis Stadium in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.
After winning the doubles point, the Fighting Illini posted singles triumphs at No. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 en route to victory. The team triumph saw the Orange and Blue improve to 14-10 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten play, while the Huskies dropped just their second match at home this season and moved their record to 16-7 overall and 8-5 in league action. Illinois' win over Washington snapped the Huskies' five-match winning streak.
"It's clear that we, as coaches, are not preparing our team for the first matches of a weekend, but we have a team of fighters full of Illini pride," said head coach Brad Dancer. "They have bounced back after adversity, time and time again. Needless to say, we didn't finish the Big Ten season to our expectations, but it's a new season and a chance to refresh and reset. I expect us to be an incredibly hungry team in the postseason."
The Illini secured the doubles point via dominant wins at No. 1 and 2. Kenta Miyoshi and Max Mroz were the first to finish, registering a 6-1 decision over Soham Purohit and Nedim Suko on Court 2. Miyoshi and Mroz broke in the second and fourth games en route to a 5-0 advantage, and they served out the match for their first dual victory as a partnership.
On Court 1, Tyler Bowers and Mathis Debru teamed up for the first time this season and sealed the doubles point with a 6-2 triumph against Cesar Bouchelaghem and Dzianis Zharyn. The Illini duo broke for the first time in the first game before breaking again in the fifth game.
Zach Viiala and Jeremy Zhang, playing together at the collegiate level for the first time, were up a break and held a 4-2 lead before their match was abandoned.
Illinois' advantage grew to 2-0 behind a win at No. 5 singles. With Debru in front in the first set by a 5-2 margin behind breaks in the fifth and seventh games, his opponent retired due to injury.
Miyoshi was next to finish, posting a three-set victory over No. 35 Cesar Bouchelaghem to improve to 8-2 in Big Ten play. The Illini junior claimed the opening frame, 6-2, using breaks in the second and eighth games to take the first set. After the Washington senior won the second set, Miyoshi bounced back in the final frame. His break in the sixth game proved to be the difference, with Miyoshi winning the match, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, for his 15th dual triumph of the spring.
Bowers ultimately clinched the match with his second singles win of the weekend, coming from behind to record a three-set win against Dzianis Zharyn at No. 2 singles. After dropping the opening set, Bowers responded with a break in the eighth game of the second frame, which helped him even the match at one set apiece. Breaks in the seventh and ninth games of the third set clinched Bowers' victory and the dual win for the Fighting Illini.
With the sides agreeing to play out, Max Mroz tallied a triumph of his own – a three-set decision over Rohan Belday to add to the Illini's lead. With the opening frame knotted at 4-4, Mroz broke in the ninth game before holding in the 10th to close out the set, 6-4. After narrowly falling in the second set, the Illini true freshman found a way to pull out the win in the third set. With the final frame level at 5-5, Mroz held serve to go in front by a 6-5 margin before breaking in the 12th game to secure the second Big Ten singles victory of his career.
Jeremy Zhang added to the Orange and Blue's advantage with a three-set victory against Nedim Suko at No. 4 singles. Following a narrow loss in the first-set tiebreaker, Zhang answered in the second frame with breaks in the second and sixth games to even his match at one set each. Up by a break with a 4-3 lead in the final frame, Zhang held serve the rest of the way for his second conference singles triumph of the spring.
Zach Viiala came up short in three sets on Court 3, falling in the third-set tiebreaker, which gave the Huskies their lone point of the afternoon.
RESULTS: NO. 31 ILLINOIS 6, NO. 39 WASHINGTON 1
Doubles
No. 1: Tyler Bowers/Mathis Debru (Illinois) def. Cesar Bouchelaghem/Dzianis Zharyn (Washington), 6-2
No. 2: Kenta Miyoshi/Max Mroz (Illinois) def. Soham Purohit/Nedim Suko (Washington), 6-1
No. 3: Zach Viiala/Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) vs. Rohan Belday/Brett Pearson (Washington), 4-2, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1
Singles
No. 1: No. 14 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. No. 35 Cesar Bouchelaghem (Washington), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
No. 2: Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. Dzianis Zharyn (Washington), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 3: Soham Purohit (Washington) def. Zach Viiala (Illinois), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5)
No. 4: Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) def. Nedim Suko (Washington), 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4
No. 5: Mathis Debru (Illinois) def. Ivan Sodan (Washington), 5-2, ret.
No. 6: Max Mroz (Illinois) def. Rohan Belday (Washington), 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5
Order of finish: 5, 1, 2, 6, 4, 3
NEXT UP
The Illini shift into postseason play starting on Thursday, when Illinois opens its run at the Big Ten Men's Tennis Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
