| Matches 4+5: Illinois vs. Xavier, #15 Duke |
| Match 4 |
vs. Xavier // Friday, Jan. 30, 12:30 p.m. CT |
| Match 5 |
vs. #15 Duke //Â Friday, Jan. 30, 6Â p.m. CT |
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Atkins Tennis Center // Urbana, Ill. |
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 25 Illinois returns to Atkins Tennis Center for a doubleheader on Friday, when the Fighting Illini host Xavier at 12:30 p.m. CT and No. 15 Duke at 6 p.m. CT.
Friday's nightcap marks the Orange and Blue's fourth ranked matchup of their dual season. The Illini started the year against No. 7 Mississippi State before playing No. 13 Columbia and No. 23 Kentucky at ITA Kickoff Weekend.
The Illini are seeking their first home victories of the season, entering the week with a 1-2 record.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 25 Illinois secured its first dual win of the season with a 4-2 victory over No. 23 Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in New York.
The sides met in the consolation round of ITA Kickoff Weekend play, with the Fighting Illini using singles wins at No. 1, 2, 4, and 6 to clinch the triumph. The Wildcats picked up the doubles point and a win at No. 3, while Court 5 went unfinished.
The Wildcats took a 1-0 advantage into singles play after claiming the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and 2. Both teams won three first sets in singles, but Hayden Jones quickly took care of business on Court 6 with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Martin Breysach.
After Kentucky retook the lead with a win at No. 3 singles, William Mroz secured his second singles triumph of the weekend with a straight-set decision over Jaden Weekes on 4. The score was not tied for long, though. After Sasha Colleu and Gabriel Debru both forced third sets on their respective courts, Kenta Miyoshi used that momentum to overcome a late deficit and pick up his first singles win of the spring with a 6-3, 7-6(6) win over Antoine Ghibaudo.Â
Debru ultimately clinched the Illini's win with his three-set comeback at No. 2 singles against Nicolas Arseneault. Dropping the opening frame, 6-4, the Frenchman bounced back in the second set, winning the tiebreaker before cruising in the third set en route to the first clinch of his career and his second dual singles win of the weekend, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-1.
ABOUT XAVIER, DUKE
Xavier is 0-3 in dual play this season after falling on the road to Ball State, Ohio State, and Louisville. The Musketeers were swept by both OSU and Louisville, though they posted wins at No. 1 and 4 singles in their 5-2 loss at Ball State to open their 2026 campaign.
Duke enters the weekend with a 4-1 record and comes in at No. 18 in the ITA rankings. The Blue Devils most recently spent ITA Kickoff Weekend at NC State, splitting its matches with a 4-2 win over the No. 9-ranked Wolfpack before dropping a 4-2 decision to No. 11 Texas A&M.
The Blue Devils began their dual schedule with four straight wins – including three straight home sweeps against Elon, James Madison, and NC Central – before defeating NC State.
Friday's match marks Duke's first contest outside of the state of North Carolina this season.  Â
SERIES HISTORY
Illinois and Xavier will face off for just the third time on Friday. The Illini are 2-0 against the Musketeers in series history, which includes victories in the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and 2010. Both matchups were played at Atkins Tennis Center, though Friday's contest will be the firstregular-season meeting between the sides.
The Illini will face the Blue Devils for the 32nd time in series history on Friday, with Illinois holding a 20-11 all-time advantage. The sides have met at least once every year since 1999, aside from the 2020-2021 COVID-19-impacted campaign.
Duke, ranked No. 7 at the time, defeated Illinois by a 4-1 margin during last season's meeting on Jan. 31 in Durham, N.C.
ITA RANKINGS ROUNDUP
Team
Singles
Doubles
ILLINOIS BRINGS IN FIVE FRESHMEN IN HIGHLY TOUTED 2025 RECRUITING CLASS
The Fighting Illini brought in five freshmen for the 2025-26 season: David Bakonyi, Sasha Colleu, Gabriel Debru, Adam Jilly, and Hayden Jones. Illinois' 2025 recruiting class was ranked No. 2 in the nation by the Tennis Recruiting Network in May, though that ranking came prior to the high-profile signing of Debru in June.
One of the highest-rated players to ever compete collegiately, Debru hails from Grenoble, France, and holds career-high ATP rankings of No. 233 in singles and No. 273 in doubles. He has secured two singles titles in ATP Challenger Tour events, along with three singles titles on the ITF tour. He has also amassed one ATP Challenger title and two ITF titles in doubles play during his career. Still only 19 years old, Debru has competed three times in the singles qualifying rounds at Roland-Garros, one of the four Grand Slam events on the ATP Tour. Prior to his shift into professional tennis, Debru won the singles title at the 2022 Roland-Garros Junior Championships and soon became the top-ranked ITF junior player in the world in July 2022.
With a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 8, Jones holds career-best ATP rankings of No. 970 in singles and No. 602 in doubles. He has earned wild-card entries into singles qualifying for the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025 and was named the 2024 Australian Tennis Junior Male Athlete of the Year.
Colleu, a blue-chip recruit from Florida, was the 16th-ranked American in the Tennis Recruiting Network's Class of 2025 rankings. Colleu has won two junior doubles titles, securing tournament wins at J100 Quebec City in September and J100 Mexico City in October. With five singles titles on the ITF juniors circuit, Colleu most recently claimed the singles tournament win at J100 Delray Beach on April 26.
David Bakonyi and Adam Jilly were part of the Illini's previously No. 9-ranked class in TRN's winter recruiting rankings. Bakonyi has a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 182, along with three junior singles and 13 junior doubles titles. Jilly has a career-best ITF junior ranking of No. 111, amassing four junior singles and nine junior doubles titles. Having already played together in doubles on the junior circuit, Bakonyi and Jilly have teamed up for eight junior doubles titles, including three during the 2024 season.
COLLEU EARNS B1G FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS (JAN. 21)
Freshman Sasha Colleu was named the Big Ten Men's Tennis Freshman of the Week following the Fighting Illini's season opener on Jan. 16, the conference office announced on Jan. 21.
Colleu earned the distinction after winning both his singles and doubles matches in Illinois' season-opening contest against No. 7 Mississippi State at Atkins Tennis Center, during which Colleu made his dual debut.
The Miami native teamed up with fellow freshman Gabriel Debru to register a 6-0 victory over the Bulldogs' Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano on Court 2, helping the Orange and Blue claim the doubles point. In singles play, Colleu secured a straight-set victory over No. 34-ranked Bryan Hernandez Cortes. Breaking twice within the first three games, the freshman tallied a 6-3 decision in the opening frame before posting a bagel in the second set en route to his 6-3, 6-0 win.
Colleu's recognition marked the first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors of his career.
MROZ NAMED TO B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Fighting Illini senior William Mroz was named to the Big Ten's Men's Tennis Players to Watch list, the conference office announced on Jan. 9.
He was one of 14 Big Ten student-athletes to secure a spot on the Big Ten Men's Tennis Players to Watch list. Mroz enters his final year at Illinois during the 2026 dual season.
During the Illini's 2024-25 campaign, the Florida native secured All-Big Ten Second Team status for the first time in his career, posting a 20-9 overall mark and a 5-1 conference record on the singles courts. He also found success in doubles, finishing the year with a 17-9 tally overall and a 7-2 record in doubles play in the Big Ten.
An Academic All-Big Ten honoree, he climbed as high as No. 30 in the ITA singles rankings, which came in the final rankings of the fall season. He ultimately closed the 2024-25 slate at No. 81.
MIYOSHI SECURES ITA SINGLES ALL-AMERICA HONORS IN NOVEMBER
Illinois senior Kenta Miyoshi secured ITA Singles All-America honors for the second consecutive season before closing his time at the NCAA Singles Championship in the third round on Thursday.
The Japan native made his second straight appearance at the NCAA Singles Championship, finishing with two ranked wins during his time at the USTA National Campus in Florida.
Miyoshi began his run with a straight-set win over UC Santa Barbara's No. 96-ranked Dominique Rolland in the opening round of singles action on Tuesday night. He then defeated No. 16 Edward Winter of Pepperdine in the second round in straight sets, helping him secure ITA All-American status and a spot in the third round for the second straight season.
His run ultimately came to a close in the third round with a two-set defeat to #22-ranked Trevor Svajda of SMU.
