SOUTH BEND, Ind. – No. 25 Illinois fell to Notre Dame, 4-1, on the road on Saturday afternoon.
The host Fighting Irish claimed the doubles point before earning singles wins at No. 2, 4, and 5. Senior William Mroz earned the sole singles victory for the Illini.
"Credit to Notre Dame," said head coach Brad Dancer. "They outplayed us in doubles. Then, in singles, I felt Perry Gregg deserved that clinch. He played strong. We have to prepare our team better. Just no doubt about that."
The Fighting Irish secured the doubles point behind wins at No. 1 and 3, sending the Illini into singles play needing four victories.
The sides split the opening sets on the singles courts, though the Fighting Irish soon doubled their advantage with a straight-set triumph on Court 5. Notre Dame then added to its edge with a two-set decision at No. 4 singles.
Mroz got the Illini on the board with his fifth straight singles win, defeating Giuseppe Cerasuolo on Court 3 in two sets. The Illini senior used a late break to take the opening frame, 7-5, before battling to a 6-3 margin in the second set.
The hosts ultimately secured the victory behind a win at No. 2 singles.
RESULTS
Doubles
No. 1: No. 16 Luis Llorens Saracho/Peter Nad (Notre Dame) def. Gabriel Debru/Tyler Bowers (Illinois), 6-4
No. 2: Kenta Miyoshi/Sasha Colleu (Illinois) vs. Perry Gregg/Nicholas Patrick (Notre Dame), 4-5, unfinished
No. 3: Noah Becker/Sebastian Dominko (Notre Dame) def. William Mroz/Jeremy Zhang (Illinois), 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 1
Singles
No. 1: No. 65 Gabriel Debru (Illinois) vs. No. 16 Sebastian Dominko (Notre Dame), 7-6(2), 2-6, 4-4, unfinished
No. 2: Perry Gregg (Notre Dame) def. No. 12 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-4, 7-5
No. 3: William Mroz (Illinois) def. Giuseppe Cerasuolo (Notre Dame), 7-5, 6-3
No. 4: Peter Nad (Notre Dame) def. No. 125 Adam Jilly (Illinois), 6-2, 7-5
No. 5: Kyran Magimay (Notre Dame) def. Hayden Jones (Illinois), 6-1, 6-3
No. 6: Sasha Colleu (Illinois) vs. Luis Llorens Saracho (Notre Dame), 7-5, 4-6, 3-0, unfinished
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 2
UP NEXT
No. 25 Illinois begins a five-match homestand at Atkins Tennis Center on Feb. 22 against North Carolina. First serve between the Illini and the Tar Heels is set for 12 p.m. CT.
