University of Illinois
ITA Midwest Regional Championship
Illinois Men's Tennis Set for ITA Midwest Regional Championship at Ohio State
October 14, 2026 | Men's Tennis
PREVIEW
| Seven Illini Head to Columbus for ITA Midwest Regionals | |
|---|---|
| Tournament | ITA Midwest Regional Championship |
| Date | Oct. 15-20 |
| Location | Columbus, Ohio (Ty Tucker Tennis Center/Racquet Club of Columbus) |
| Tournament Site | Ohio State Site |
| Draws | Singles | Doubles |
| Live Coverage | Scores | Live Streams (Available only at TTTC) |
| Illinois | Roster | Schedule | 2025-26 Statistics |
| Shop | Fighting Illini Store |
| Social Media | X | Instagram | Facebook |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's tennis team returns to action with the ITA Midwest Regional Championship from Oct. 15-20 in Columbus, Ohio, with seven student-athletes set to compete across singles and doubles play.
David Bakonyi, Sasha Colleu, Adam Jilly, Jon Gamble, Nicholas Mekhael, Colson Wells, and Jeremy Zhang will all represent the Orange and Blue at Ohio State this week.
The single-elimination tournament is the second of four events that will serve as pathways into the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, scheduled for Nov. 17-22 in Athens, Georgia. The two singles finalists and the doubles champions at the ITA Midwest Regional will all earn entry into the NCAA Championships next month.
Mekhael will begin his singles run in the qualifying bracket, while the six other Illini making the trip will start singles play in the main draw.
The doubles main draw will feature three Illini tandems: Bakonyi/Jilly, Colleu/Gamble, and Wells/Zhang.
The opening round of singles qualifying is slated for Thursday, with the second round of qualifying set to take place on Friday. The singles main draw will get underway on Saturday. Doubles action will begin with the first two rounds of the main draw on Friday.
Colleu will make his fall debut this week, while Bakonyi and Jilly return to action after competing most recently at the Hope College Invite - Dual for the Shoe from Oct. 2-4. Gamble, Mekhael, Wells, and Zhang all took part in the Fighting Irish Mini Duals during the last week of September, with Gamble and Mekhael taking the team title at the competition.
Action from Columbus will take place from Thursday through Tuesday, with singles qualifying set to begin on Thursday morning. After earning a first-round bye in qualifying, Mekhael will face either DePaul's Alexander Haage or Chicago State's Cesar Coloma in the second round of qualifying on Friday.
Matchups for the opening round of singles and doubles main draw action have also been released:
Singles
Sasha Colleu vs. Qualifier
Colson Wells vs. Benjamin Azar (Michigan)
[8] Jeremy Zhang vs. Evan Burnett (Michigan)
Jon Gamble vs. Naoto Tomizawa (Michigan)
David Bakonyi vs. [7] Patrik Meszaros (Wisconsin)
Adam Jilly vs. Qualifier
Doubles
[6] Adam Jilly/David Bakonyi - First Round Bye
[12] Colson Wells/Jeremy Zhang - First Round Bye
[14] Sasha Colleu/Jon Gamble vs. Benjamin Azar/Naoto Tomizawa (Michigan)
