Illinois Travels to TCU for NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds

#33 Illinois at the NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds
First Round vs. #24 Oklahoma	Friday, May 2, 3 p.m. CT
Location	Fort Worth, Texas (TCU Regional)
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Notes/Record Book	Illinois Match Notes // 2025 Record Book
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois' NCAA Tournament run begins in the first round on Friday at 3 p.m. CT, when the Illini take on No. 24 Oklahoma in Fort Worth, Texas.

The winner of Friday afternoon's contest advances to the second round to take on either Abilene Christian or host No. 2 TCU on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT. The match between the Wildcats and the Horned Frogs is slated for 6 p.m. CT on Friday night.

Illinois, making its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance under 20-year head coach Brad Dancer, holds a 15-11 record and is serving as the No. 3 seed in the Fort Worth Regional. The Orange and Blue earned an at-large berth and are one of eight Big Ten teams in the NCAA Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT

Illinois advanced to the quarterfinals at the Big Ten Tournament before falling to host and top-seeded No. 6 Ohio State on April 25. The Illini defeated Oregon, 4-1, in the first round before coming up short in a 4-3 defeat to the Buckeyes.

Against Oregon, 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. The tandems of Tyler Bowers/Mathis Debru and Zach Viiala/Jeremy Zhang each secured wins to give the Illini a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.

Debru's 6-2, 6-2 decision doubled Illinois' advantage before Max Mroz posted a three-set triumph on Court 6 to lengthen the lead to 3-0. After Oregon recorded a win at No. 2, Kenta Miyoshi clinched the Illini victory on the top singles court.

In the quarterfinals, the Illini claimed the doubles point once again, with Kenta Miyoshi/Max Mroz and Bowers/Debru registering wins to put the Orange and Blue ahead, 1-0. The Buckeyes bounced back by taking the first two singles matches to finish, but the Illini found a response on Courts 1 and 4. Viiala's 6-3, 6-1 decision leveled the dual at 2-2 before Miyoshi's comeback 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory put Illinois back in front. Ohio State ultimately won the last two matches in progress to hand the Illini a hard-fought 4-3 defeat.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Ahead of the Orange and Blue's 28th overall appearance in the national event, the Illini hold a 53-26 record in NCAA Tournament play. Illinois advanced to the second round in 2024, posting a 4-1 win over Toledo in the first round before falling to No. 5 Kentucky, 4-3.

Across the team's previous 27 NCAA Tournament appearances, the Orange and Blue have advanced to the second round 23 times, to the third round 17 times, to the quarterfinals seven times, to the semifinals three times, and to the final twice. Illinois has one national championship in program history, which came during the program's undefeated 2003 season.

SERIES HISTORY

The Sooners, sitting at No. 24 in this week's ITA team rankings, make the trip to TCU with a 16-10 overall record. The No. 10 seed in the SEC Championship, Oklahoma defeated LSU in the first round and Georgia in the second round before falling to No. 12 Mississippi State in the quarterfinals.

Led by head coach Nick Crowell, who is in his ninth season at the helm of the program, OU finished with a 7-7 league record in its debut campaign in the SEC. In conference play, the Sooners posted a ranked win against then-No. 18 Tennessee en route to tying for eighth place in the final SEC standings

Oklahoma enters the NCAA Tournament with three student-athletes in the ITA singles rankings: No. 108 Oscar Lacides and No. 125 Luis Carlos Alvarez Valdes. Lacides and Bruno Nhavene are ranked No. 13 in the national doubles rankings.

The reigning national team champions, No. 2 TCU is hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season. The Horned Frogs, boasting a 22-3 record, have been ranked among the top two teams in the country for the entirety of the 2025 season.

The Horned Frogs went 8-0 during their Big 12 regular-season slate and secured the conference title, though TCU's 13-match winning streak came to an end following a 4-3 loss to No. 18 UCF in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.

With a 32-match home winning streak heading into the weekend, TCU has five players in the latest ITA singles rankings: No. 8 Jack Pinnington, No. 10 Pedro Vives, No. 37 Lui Maxted, No. 95 Cooper Woestendick, and No. 121 Julian Alonso Vivanco. The Horned Frogs also feature two ranked doubles pairs: No. 2 Vives/Maxted, who won the NCAA Doubles Championship in the fall, and No. 32 Pinnington/Woestendick.

Abilene Christian earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament by winning the WAC Tournament on April 19. The Wildcats, the No. 3 seed in the competition, defeated host and No. 2-seeded UT Arlington before downing top-seeded Grand Canyon in the championship.

ACU arrives in Fort Worth with a 13-10 record. The Wildcats will take on the Horned Frogs on Friday night, with the winner set to play either the Illini or the Sooners on Saturday afternoon.

MIYOSHI NAMED 2025 BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Junior Kenta Miyoshi became the seventh player in program history to be named Big Ten Player of the Year, while redshirt junior William Mroz earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team, the conference office announced on April 24. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Bowers was named the Illini's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree for the first time in his career.

Miyoshi earned Big Ten Player of the Year recognition after putting together one of the most dominant Big Ten campaigns in program history. Going 8-2 at No. 1 singles, the ITA All-American recorded four of those victories against ranked opposition, while 10 of his 13 opponents during conference play appeared in the April 22 ITA singles rankings.

One of two unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selections, Miyoshi recorded the second-most singles wins at the No. 1 position during Big Ten action, while seven of his eight Big Ten victories came in straight sets. Two of those triumphs came against players currently in the top 20 of the most recent ITA singles rankings: a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ohio State's No. 12 Aidan Kim and a 7-5, 6-3 decision against USC's No. 17 Peter Makk, the latter of whom was also a unanimous inclusion on the All-Big Ten First Team.

Holding a spot in the top 20 of the ITA singles rankings since December, he also posted six Big Ten doubles victories while playing all but one dual at the No. 1 position. Miyoshi tallied a four-match doubles winning streak in conference play with triumphs against Purdue, Indiana, UCLA, and USC from March 14-23.

Miyoshi is Illinois' first Big Ten Player of the Year honoree since Aleks Vukic in 2016-17, and he joins an exclusive group of former Illini to achieve the distinction: Oliver Freelove, 1998-99; Brian Wilson, 2003-04; Ryler DeHeart, 2004-05 and 2005-06; Kevin Anderson, 2006-07; Farris Gosea, 2013-14; and Aleks Vukic, 2016-17.

DANCER EARNS CONTRACT EXTENSION THROUGH 2031

Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman has announced a contract extension for longtime Fighting Illini men's tennis head coach Brad Dancer. The new agreement keeps Dancer on contract through the 2030-31 season.

"Brad Dancer is a trusted, veteran leader in our athletics department and one of the most accomplished coaches throughout all of collegiate tennis, and we are thrilled to extend our partnership through the next six years as he continues to lead a championship-caliber men's tennis program," Whitman said. "Brad is a relentless competitor who inspires his athletes and is committed to their development both on and off the court. Despite decades of success, he is never complacent, exhausting every avenue each day to push his team to new heights. We are grateful to Brad and his family for becoming ingrained into the fabric of the University of Illinois community, and we look forward to many more successful years for Fighting Illini Men's Tennis."

Currently in his 20th season as head coach and 21st campaign overall at Illinois, Dancer has guided the Orange and Blue to 17 NCAA Tournament berths, 11 Sweet 16 appearances, three Big Ten Tournament titles, and two Big Ten regular-season conference championships, building on the program's longstanding winning tradition.

Since taking over as head coach on June 28, 2005, Dancer has become the Illinois men's tennis program's all-time winningest coach while currently ranking as the eighth-winningest coach in Big Ten history. A two-time ITA Regional Coach of the Year, Dancer has coached 28 All-Americans, 42 All-Big Ten honorees, four Big Ten Players of the Year, and two Big Ten Freshmen of the Year during his tenure with the Orange and Blue.

Dancer holds a record of 387-183 overall and 161-43 in Big Ten play during his time at the helm of the Fighting Illini, with his overall wins and conference victories both ranking first in program history.

ILLINI SECURE FIRST TOP-25 WIN OF SEASON, DEFEAT NO. 12 MICHIGAN

No. 20 Illinois recorded its first ranked win of the spring with a 5-2 victory over No. 12 Michigan at Atkins Tennis Center on Feb. 22.

Despite dropping the first set on five singles courts, the Illini fought back to win four singles matches while claiming the doubles point for the second time this season.

Illinois secured the doubles point behind wins at No. 2 and 3. Mathis Debru and Max Mroz, teaming up for the first time this spring, were the first to finish and earned a 6-2 victory at No. 3 doubles. Kenta Miyoshi and William Mroz were not far behind at No. 2 doubles, posting a 6-4 win to take the doubles point for the Illini.

Miyoshi recorded the team's first singles win of the night with a 7-6(4), 6-3 triumph at No. 1 against No. 55 Benjamin Kittay, marking the Illini junior's third ranked win of the dual season.

Zach Viiala was the next to finish with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 6 singles, and Debru ultimately clinched the Orange and Blue's win with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory on Court 5. With the sides agreeing to play out the match, Will Mroz closed the night with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 triumph at No. 2 singles and completed the 5-2 ranked win.

MIYOSHI EARNS ITA SINGLES ALL-AMERICAN STATUS

Illinois junior Kenta Miyoshi earned ITA All-America status during his first-ever appearance at the NCAA Singles Championship, advancing to the singles third round at Baylor's Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas. Miyoshi represented the Fighting Illini men's tennis program at the event, which moved from the spring to the fall for the first time.

Miyoshi picked up two straight-set ranked wins en route to securing Singles All-American honors for the first time in his career before falling in the third round on Nov. 19.

TEAMS/PLAYERS IN THE ITA RANKINGS

Team

No. 2: TCU
No. 24: Oklahoma
No. 33: Illinois

Singles

No. 8: Jack Pinnington (TCU)
No. 10: Pedro Vives (TCU)
No. 12: Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois)
No. 37: Lui Maxted (TCU)
No. 80: William Mroz (Illinois)
No. 95: Cooper Woestendick (TCU)
No. 108: Oscar Lacides (Oklahoma)
No. 121: Julian Alonso Vivanco (TCU)
No. 125: Luis Carlos Alvarez Valdes (Oklahoma)

Doubles

No. 2: Pedro Vives/Lui Maxted (TCU)
No. 13: Oscar Lacides/Bruno Nhavene (Oklahoma)
No. 32: Jack Pinnington/Cooper Woestendick (TCU)

Schedule