LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 25 Illinois secured its first true road win of the year with a 4-3 victory at Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.
Despite dropping the doubles point, the Fighting Illini (4-2) used singles triumphs at No. 3, 4, 5, and 6 to take down the Wildcats for the second time this season.
"First off, hats off to Kentucky. They were playing down men, and they had some guys who really stepped up today," said head coach Brad Dancer. "We had senior Will Mroz just put his foot on the accelerator and not let up. Great leadership from him. Obviously, what can you say other than freshmen, freshmen, freshmen. To go on the road, to have Gabriel Debru battle back in the second to shift momentum, and then to see three freshmen go bam, bam, bam at 4, 5, and 6 was huge. The bench was great. TK and Lucas managed the guys well. That was a match of guys stepping up."
Kentucky established a 1-0 lead after taking the doubles point via wins on Courts 1 and 3. Gabriel Debru and Tyler Bowers held a 5-2 edge on Court 2 before their match went unfinished.
The hosts doubled their advantage with a win on the top singles court, but Illinois responded by claiming the next three singles decisions.
William Mroz continued his winning ways, posting his fourth consecutive singles victory via a 6-4, 6-2 decision over Jaden Weekes at No. 3 singles. Now 6-1 in singles play this season, the senior improved to 4-1 in duals.
Adam Jilly was the next to finish behind a three-set triumph at No. 4 singles, defeating No. 73 Charlelie Cosnet for his third ranked singles victory of the season. After the sides split the opening two sets, the Hungary native pulled out a 6-2 margin in the deciding frame en route to third straight singles win.
The next Illini triumph came from Hayden Jones, who cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 decision over Mikael Arseneault at No. 5 singles. Registering his fourth bagel in his last four matches in the opening set, he extended his winning streak to four – all of which have come in straight sets – with a 6-3 decision in the second frame.
After the Wildcats briefly evened the dual at 3-3 with a win at No. 2 singles, the Illini closed out their road victory with Sasha Colleu's two-set decision at No. 6 over Kentucky's Matt Rankin. The freshman's 6-3, 6-4 triumph marked the first clinch of his collegiate career.
RESULTS
Doubles
No. 1: No. 35 Jack Loutit/Eli Stephenson (Kentucky) def. No. 37 Adam Jilly/Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-2
No. 2: Gabriel Debru/Tyler Bowers (Illinois) vs. Mikael Arseneault/Jaden Weekes (Kentucky), 5-2, unfinished
No. 3: Charlelie Cosnet/Martin Breysach (Kentucky) def. Hayden Jones/William Mroz (Illinois), 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1
Singles
No. 1: No. 20 Eli Stephenson (Kentucky) def. No. 12 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-1, 6-3
No. 2: No. 30 Jack Loutit (Kentucky) def. No. 65 Gabriel Debru (Illinois), 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4
No. 3: William Mroz (Illinois) def. Jaden Weekes (Kentucky), 6-4, 6-2
No. 4: No. 125 Adam Jilly (Illinois) def. No. 73 Charlelie Cosnet (Kentucky), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
No. 5: Hayden Jones (Illinois) def. Mikael Arseneault (Kentucky), 6-0, 6-3
No. 6: Sasha Colleu (Illinois) def. Matt Rankin (Kentucky), 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6
UP NEXT
No. 25 Illinois will take on Notre Dame away from home next Saturday, Feb. 14. The Fighting Illini and the Fighting Irish will battle at 11 a.m. CT.
