COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Fighting Illini began their run at the Big Ten Men's Tennis Tournament with a 4-1 win over [9] Oregon on Thursday afternoon at the Auer Tennis Complex on the campus of Ohio State.
Illinois secured the doubles point before using singles victories on Courts 1, 5, and 6 to fly past the Ducks and earn a spot in the quarterfinals on Friday. The team triumph saw the Orange and Blue move to 15-10 overall this season while improving to 4-0 in neutral-site matches this spring.
The Illini held a 1-0 lead after doubles play behind wins at No. 1 and 3. Tyler Bowers and Mathis Debru were the first to finish, posting a 6-3 decision against Oregon's Lenn Luemkemann and Matthew Burton. The Illinois duo broke for the first time in the fourth game, which ultimately proved to be the difference as Bowers and Debru moved to 2-0 as a tandem.
After the Ducks recorded a win at No. 2, the doubles point came down to the action on Court 3 between Illinois' Zach Viiala and Jeremy Zhang and Oregon's Vlad Breazu and Clement Lemire. With the match tied at 5-5, the Illini pair held serve before breaking on deuce point in the 12th game to tally a 7-5 triumph, their first collegiate victory playing together, and give Illinois a 1-0 edge heading into singles play.
Debru doubled Illinois' advantage with a straight-set win at No. 5 singles against Matthew Burton. The senior broke twice within the first four games of the first set, eventually taking the opening frame, 6-2. After getting broken in the first game of the second set, Debru broke right back in the second game. With the frame knotted at 2-2, he claimed the next four games, breaking twice to complete his 6-2, 6-2 victory and extend his winning streak to four matches.
At No. 6 singles, Max Mroz was the next Illini to finish with a three-set triumph over Oregon's Lachlan Robertson. The Illinois freshman bagged an early break in the second game of the opening frame, which helped him take the set, 6-3. After the Duck junior bounced back to win the second set, Mroz answered in the final frame. A break in the first game set the tone, breaking again in the seventh game to round out the win, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
The Ducks got on the board with a win at No. 2 singles, but Kenta Miyoshi eventually clinched the Illini victory with a straight-set ranked triumph over No. 104 Lenn Luemkemann on the top singles court. Going down a break after the seventh game, Miyoshi broke back immediately in the eighth game. With the opening frame tied at 5-5, he held serve in the 11th game before breaking in the 12th. Holding a 5-4 lead in the second set, Miyoshi broke in the 10th game for his 19th ranked win of the year.
RESULTS: [8] NO. 33 ILLINOIS 4, [9] NO. 46 OREGON 1
Doubles
No. 1: Tyler Bowers/Mathis Debru (Illinois) def. Lenn Luemkemann/Matthew Burton (Oregon), 6-3
No. 2: Paris Pouatcha/Lachlan Robertson (Oregon) def. Max Mroz/Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-4
No. 3: Zach Viiala/Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) def. Vlad Breazu/Clement Lemire (Oregon), 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
No. 1: No. 14 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. No. 104 Lenn Luemkemann (Oregon), 7-5, 6-4
No. 2: No. 105 Vlad Breazu (Oregon) def. Tyler Bowers (Illinois), 6-4, 7-6(1)
No. 3: Zach Viiala (Illinois) vs. Paris Pouatcha (Oregon), 7-6(3), 3-6, unfinished
No. 4: Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) vs. Clement Lemire (Oregon), 3-6, 6-3, 0-5, unfinished
No. 5: Mathis Debru (Illinois) def. Matthew Burton (Oregon), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6: Max Mroz (Illinois) def. Lachlan Robertson (Oregon), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 6, 2, 1
NEXT UP
With the win, [8] Illinois advances to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday morning, taking on host and top-seeded Ohio State in the next round. The Illini and No. 6-ranked Buckeyes will battle on Friday at 8 a.m. CT on B1G+.
