Illinois Earns Second Straight Top-10 Win With 4-2 Victory Over #6 TCU

URBANA, Ill. – Illinois secured its second top-10 win in as many days, taking down No. 6 TCU, 4-2, at Atkins Tennis Center on Saturday night.

Now on a five-match winning streak and sitting at 9-3 on the season, the Fighting Illini claimed the doubles point before using singles wins at the No. 1, 3, and 4 spots in the lineup to seal the victory, the team's fourth ranked triumph of the campaign.

"We have great players. We have tough players," said head coach Brad Dancer. "We've over-coached and under-led. We have awesome personalities on this team, and it's time to let these dogs ride."

The Illini once again came out strong in doubles play. Zach Viiala and Sasha Colleu were the first to finish, defeating TCU's Maximus Dussault/Albert Pedrico on Court 3. A break in the eighth game was all the Illinois tandem needed to win their match, 6-3.

Gabriel Debru and Tyler Bowers ultimately collected the doubles point with a ranked win on the top doubles court. A break in the third game pushed the Orange and Blue duo ahead before breaking again in the ninth game to close out the 6-3 decision and give the Illini a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.

After the Horned Frogs got on the board with a win at No. 5, senior William Mroz jump-started the Illini in singles play with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 28 Cooper Woestendick of TCU on Court 3. Registering the highest-ranked victory of his collegiate career, Mroz has now won seven straight singles matches, including back-to-back ranked triumphs. 

TCU evened the contest at 2-2, but the Illini freshmen ended up taking this one home, first with Gabriel Debru on the top singles court. The Frenchman notched his fourth ranked singles win of the season, defeating No. 9 Duncan Chan in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Debru now has back-to-back top-15 singles wins over the last two days.

Adam Jilly then clinched the top-10 win for the Orange and Blue at No. 4 singles. After collecting a smooth 6-3 opening frame against TCU's Oliver Bonding, the Horned Frog freshman responded with a 6-2 decision of his own in the second set. It was ultimately Jilly who took control in the third, cruising to a 6-2 margin to give the Illini their second top-10 victory of the weekend. 

RESULTS

Doubles
No. 1: Gabriel Debru/Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. #56 Cooper Woestendick/Oliver Bonding (TCU), 6-3
No. 2: Kenta Miyoshi/William Mroz (Illinois) vs. #7 Cosme Rolland de Ravel/Duncan Chan (TCU), 4-5, unfinished
No. 3: Zach Viiala/Sasha Colleu (Illinois) def. Maximus Dussault/Albert Pedrico (TCU), 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 1

Singles
No. 1: Gabriel Debru (Illinois) def. #9 Duncan Chan (TCU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 2: #22 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) vs. #31 Cosme Rolland de Ravel (TCU), 4-6, 5-5, unfinished
No. 3: William Mroz (Illinois) def. #28 Cooper Woestendick (TCU), 6-4, 6-3
No. 4: Adam Jilly (Illinois) def. Oliver Bonding (TCU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
No. 5: Roger Pascual (TCU) def. Hayden Jones (Illinois), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6: Maximus Dussault (TCU) def. Sasha Colleu (Illinois), 6-1, 6-3 

Order of finish: 5, 3, 6, 1, 4

UP NEXT

Illinois opens Big Ten play at Atkins Tennis Center next weekend against Oregon and Washington. The Illini will take on the Ducks on Friday at 6 p.m. CT before hosting the Huskies on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT.