CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 14 Illinois heads back out on the road for two away matches this weekend. The Fighting Illini will first face No. 2 Ohio State on Friday at 5 p.m. CT before playing Penn State on Sunday at 9 a.m. CT.
The Fighting Illini, currently 15-4 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten, are set for their penultimate road weekend in conference play.
LAST TIME OUT
The Fighting Illini saw their 11-match winning streak come to an end with a 4-3 loss to Michigan State on March 22 at Atkins Tennis Center.
Illinois collected singles victories on Courts 2, 3, and 5, but it was not enough as the Spartans claimed the doubles point and singles wins on Courts 1, 4, and 6.
The visitors took the doubles point after getting wins on Courts 1 and 2. David Bakonyi and Zach Viiala teamed up for a ranked victory at No. 3 doubles, defeating No. 30 Aristotelis Thanos/Mitchell Sheldon.
The Orange and Blue responded by winning four of the six opening sets in singles play. William Mroz was the first to finish, picking up a ranked triumph with his dominant 6-3, 6-2 result over No. 36 Ozan Baris on Court 3. Illinois then went in front with Kenta Miyoshi's 6-3, 6-3 decision at No. 2 singles against No. 11 Matthew Forbes, marking his highest ranked win of the season.
Michigan State accounted for the next two singles wins before Viiala secured a three-set victory over Taym Alazmeh on Court 5. The match ultimately came down to Court 4, where Adam Jilly battled Danial Rakhmatullayev. After Jilly took the opening set, the Spartan sophomore responded by taking the next two frames, which sealed the Michigan State win.
OPPONENT SCOUT
Ohio State enters the weekend ranked No. 2 in the country with a 17-3 record and a 4-1 mark in conference play this season. The Buckeyes have won three straight matches, including a pair of road victories over Indiana and Purdue last week.
Friday's hosts have already put together an impressive resume this season with seven ranked wins, including six over top-10 opponents. The Buckeyes have three triumphs over the top-ranked team in the nation with two wins over Virginia and one against Wake Forest. On their home courts, OSU is 10-1, including a 4-0 posting against top-25 opposition.
OSU features five ranked singles players and five ranked doubles tandems. The Buckeyes boast four student-athletes among the top-50 singles players in the nation in No. 9 Aidan Kim, No. 16 Preston Stearns, No. 27 Jack Anthrop, and No. 32 Alex Okonkwo. On the doubles courts, Ohio State features the No. 1 duo in the nation in Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin. No. 17 Alexander Bernard/Alex Okonkwo and No. 28 Aidan Kim/Bryce Nakashima also rank in the top 50.
Penn State sits at 13-7 overall and 1-4 in Big Ten play ahead of its two home matches this weekend. The Nittany Lions split their conference duals last week with a 6-1 road win at Purdue and a 4-1 defeat at Indiana.
PSU started the season on a seven-game winning streak and went on to win nine of its first 10 matches. The Nittany Lions are now 10-3 on their home courts, though they dropped their two most recent home duals against Michigan and Michigan State.
Penn State does not have any singles or doubles players in the most recent ITA rankings.
ITA RANKINGS ROUNDUP
Team
- No. 2: Ohio State
- No. 14: Illinois
Singles
- No. 9: Aidan Kim (Ohio State)
- No. 16: Preston Stearns (Ohio State)
- No. 23: Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois)
- No. 27: Jack Anthrop (Ohio State)
- No. 28: Gabriel Debru (Illinois)
- No. 32: Alex Okonkwo (Ohio State)
- No. 85: Nikita Filin (Ohio State)
- No. 101: William Mroz (Illinois)
Doubles
- No. 1: Brandon Carpico/Nikita Filin (Ohio State)
- No. 17: Alexander Bernard/Alex Okonkwo (Ohio State)
- No. 28: Aidan Kim/Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State)
- No. 41: Kenta Miyoshi/William Mroz (Illinois)
- No. 45: Adam Jilly/Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois)
- No. 52: Jack Anthrop/Loren Byers (Ohio State)
- No. 56: Jack Anthrop/Preston Stearns (Ohio State)
JILLY SECURES BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR THIRD TIME (MARCH 18)
Fighting Illini freshman Adam Jilly was recognized by the conference office on March 18 as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week following his standout performances on the singles courts over the weekend.
Jilly earned the conference's freshman weekly honors for the third time this season after clinching Illinois' road wins over Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Against the Cornhuskers, the Hungary native notched a straight-set decision over Niels Van Der Sijs to clinch the Illini's 4-1 triumph.
Two days later, he provided the clinching win against Wisconsin. Jilly's 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 triumph over Edouard Aubert at No. 4 singles extended his singles winning streak to five matches and pushed the Illini's winning streak to 10.
VIIALA COLLECTS B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK STATUS (MARCH 11)
Illinois redshirt sophomore Zach Viiala was recognized by the conference office on March 11 as the Big Ten Player of the Week following his performances during the Fighting Illini's wins over Northern Illinois, Oregon, and Washington.
Viiala earned conference weekly honors for the first time in his career, while it marked the third straight week that an Illini student-athlete was named the Big Ten Player of the Week.
The Perth, Australia, native went 4-0 across singles and doubles play across the team's three dual wins while remaining perfect on the singles courts this season.
On the doubles courts, Viiala began the weekend with a dramatic 7-6(6) win over Oregon's Cameron Burton/Lachlan Robertson on Court 3 on Friday. Against Washington on Sunday, he secured a 6-3 triumph against the Huskie duo of Stephane Kamendje and Rohan Belday.
In singles play, Viiala posted a 6-2, 6-0 decision against Northern Illinois' Chiao Bo Suo Nan on Court 4. He followed it up with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Oregon's Cameron Burton.
DEBRU, JILLY HELP ILLINOIS SWEEP BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARDS (MARCH 4)
Fighting Illini freshmen Gabriel Debru and Adam Jilly were recognized by the conference office on March 4 with Big Ten weekly awards following their standout performances during Illinois' wins over No. 6 TCU and No. 8 Baylor last week.
Debru was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the first time in his career, while Jilly was tabbed with Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the second time.
Debru went 4-0 across singles and doubles play during Illinois' two top-10 wins. Recording three total ranked victories over the course of the weekend, including two over top-15 singles players, Debru moved up to No. 26 in the ITA singles rankings. Jilly also put together a perfect weekend with two singles triumphs of his own. He notched the fourth ranked decision of his collegiate career during that stretch while climbing to No. 111 in the ITA singles rankings.
The Illini claimed the Big Ten Player of the Week award in consecutive weeks after William Mroz received that recognition on Feb. 25. It also marked the third Big Ten Freshman of the Week distinction for an Illini this season.
ILLINOIS EARNS BACK-TO-BACK TOP-10 NONCONFERENCE WINS (FEB. 27-28)
Over the course of consecutive nights, Illinois defeated No. 8 Baylor (Feb. 27) and No. 6 TCU (Feb. 28) at Atkins Tennis Center.
The Illini took the doubles point in both matches, while Gabriel Debru logged top-15 singles victories on Court 1 against both the Bears and the Horned Frogs. Kenta Miyoshi clinched the Friday night triumph with a ranked win on Court 2, while Adam Jilly's three-set decision on Court 4 closed out Saturday's victory.
Against No. 8 Baylor, the Orange and Blue drew first blood with a 6-3 victory by Gabriel Debru and Tyler Bowers over Baylor's Alexandru Chirita and Zsombor Velcz on Court 1. On Court 2, Kenta Miyoshi and William Mroz finished the job with a 6-4 victory over Luc Koenig and Connor Henry Van Schalkwyk.
Adam Jilly started the singles action for Illinois with a 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 73 Alexandru Chirita of Baylor, marking his fourth ranked singles win of the season. Debru also snagged his third ranked triumph of the season with 6-4, 6-0 victory over No. 13 Devin Badenhorst.
Miyoshi would go the distance against No. 39 Zsombor Velcz, outlasting the Hungarian in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to secure a top-10 win for the Illini.
On Saturday against No. 6 TCU, 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. Gabriel Debru and Tyler Bowers ultimately collected the doubles point with a ranked win on the top doubles court over No. 56 Cooper Woestendick/Oliver Bonding.
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.
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.
Adam Jilly then clinched the top-10 win for the Orange and Blue at No. 4 singles with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory over TCU's Oliver Bonding, giving the Illini their second top-10 victory of the weekend.
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.
