Illinois Set to Host Illinois State, #8 Baylor, #6 TCU at Atkins Tennis Center

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois continues its three-week homestand with three matches this weekend, with the Illini slated to face two top-10 teams at Atkins Tennis Center.

The Illini will battle Illinois State and No. 8 Baylor in a doubleheader on Friday before taking on No. 6 TCU on Saturday night.

LAST TIME OUT

Illinois comes off a strong weekend at Atkins Tennis Center, taking down both North Carolina and UIC in a Sunday doubleheader. 

The Fighting Illini started off the day with North Carolina, serving up the match by taking the doubles point after winning at No. 1 and No. 2. Kenta Miyoshi and William Mroz were responsible for the 6-2 decision at No. 2, while Gabriel Debru and Tyler Bowers clinched the point via a 7-6(4) win on No. 1.

The Illini made quick work of the Tar Heels in singles play, only giving up one point to UNC while leaving two matches unfinished. Debru was the first off the courts with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles, followed by Zach Viiala taking a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles. William Mroz clinched the match for Illinois with his first ranked win of the season, taking down No. 87 Ian Mayew in 6-4, 6-4 fashion. 

Illinois took on UIC that same evening, putting out the Flames at a final score of 6-1. The Orange and Blue took the doubles point, followed by singles wins at the No. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 positions. David Bakonyi had a dominant showing on court six, sweeping his opponent for Illinois' second point. 

The Illini advanced to 6-3 in dual play after the doubleheader sweep.

OPPONENT SCOUT

The in-state Redbirds sit at 4-5 this season while holding a 3-4 record in road matches. ISU enters the weekend having lost three of its last four matches, but the Redbirds secured a 4-3 win over Wagner College on Feb. 21 in its most recent contest.

Baylor boasts a 7-4 record thus far this season while checking in at No. 8 in the most recent ITA team rankings. The Bears have not fared well away from home – having lost all four of their matches played outside of Waco, Texas – this season, though they have secured multiple ranked victories on their home courts.

Baylor defeated No. 8 Texas A&M before taking down No. 9 UCF and No. 3 Wake Forest en route to the semifinals at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Bears feature four ranked singles players, including three student-athletes in the top 50 nationally.

TCU arrives in Champaign-Urbana with an 8-3 record and a No. 6 listing in the ITA team rankings. Last year's national runner-up has proven hard to beat away from home, with the Horned Frogs holding a 2-0 road record.

The 2024 national champions have four players in the ITA singles rankings, including No. 9 Duncan Chan, and three ranked doubles tandems, highlighted by No. 7-ranked Duncan Chan/Cosme Rolland de Ravel.

SERIES HISTORY

Illinois and Illinois State will square off for the 58th time in series history on Friday, with the Illini holding a commanding 56-1 edge all-time. The sides last met during the 2022-23 season, with the Orange and Blue posting a 6-1 victory. The Redbirds' lone triumph came back in 1973.

Baylor has a 10-8 advantage in the all-time series, which includes last season's 4-1 win in Waco. Illinois last defeated the Bears in 2024, a 5-2 victory at Atkins Tennis Center over then-No. 14 Baylor on March 1, 2024. The teams have played every season since 2018-19.

TCU leads the series, 10-5, which dates back to the first meeting in 1984. The Horned Frogs secured a 4-1 win against the Illini in 2023, while TCU has taken the last three contests in the series. The Illini look for their first triumph over the Frogs since the 2018 NCAA Tournament on May 18, 2018.

ITA RANKINGS ROUNDUP

Team

• No. 6: TCU
• No. 8: Baylor
• No. 32: Illinois

Singles

• No. 9: Duncan Chan (TCU)
• No. 13: Devin Badenhorst (Baylor)
• No. 22: Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois)
• No. 27: Connor Henry Van Schalkwyk (Baylor)
• No. 28: Cooper Woestendick (TCU)
• No. 31: Cosme Rolland de Ravel (TCU)
• No. 39: Zsombor Velcz (Baylor)
• No, 69: Julian Alonso Vivanco (TCU)
• No. 73: Ioan Alexandru Chirita (Baylor)

Doubles

• No. 7: Duncan Chan/Cosme Rolland de Ravel (TCU)
• No. 31: Albert Pedrico Kravtsov/Cosme Rolland de Ravel (TCU)
• No. 34: Kenta Miyoshi/Adam Jilly (Illinois)
• No. 56: Cooper Woestendick/Oliver Bonding (TCU)

MROZ CLAIMS B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR FIRST TIME (FEB. 25)

Fighting Illini senior William Mroz was named the Big Ten Player of the Week following his standout performances against North Carolina and UIC, the conference office announced on Feb. 25.

Mroz went 3-0 in singles and doubles play across the two matches, including a ranked win to clinch the Illini's victory over the Tar Heels.

The Florida native began the weekend with a commanding 6-2 triumph over UNC's Anthony Wright and Roan Jones at No. 2 doubles. Facing his first ranked opponent of the season in singles play, Mroz posted a 6-4, 6-4 decision to defeat No. 87 Ian Mayew and clinch Illinois' 4-1 win.

Later that day on Sunday, Mroz closed out his strong weekend with a 6-1 triumph against UIC's Henrique Sa/Eldin Nokic in the Illini's 6-1 victory over the Flames.

Mroz earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career, while he is the first Illini to achieve that distinction this season.

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.