| Matches 13-15: #11 Illinois vs. Northern Illinois, Oregon, Washington |
| Match 13 |
vs. Northern Illinois // Friday, March 6 // 12:30 p.m. CT |
| Match 14 |
vs. Oregon // Friday, March 6 // 6 p.m. CT |
| Match 15 |
vs. Washington // Sunday, March 8 // 12 p.m. CT |
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Atkins Tennis Center // Urbana, Ill. |
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Oregon Match:
- Rally Towels - Early arriving fans will receive Illinois Tennis Rally Towels! When we win a match, wave those towels!
- Post-Match Court Access - Refine your own tennis skills with a 30-minute "open court" following each match!
- Food truck - Patty Daddy's free food voucher for a limited number of fans
Washington Match:
- Post-Match Court Access - Refine your own tennis skills with a 30-minute "open court" following each match!
- Donuts - Early arriving fans will receive donuts
- Food truck - Brien's Bistro
- Kids Day - For more information, contact DIAMarketing@illinois.edu
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois concludes its three-week homestand with three more matches this weekend at Atkins Tennis, with the Illini slated to begin Big Ten play on Friday.
The Illini will battle Northern Illinois and Oregon in a doubleheader on Friday before taking on Washington on Sunday afternoon.
LAST TIME OUT
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.
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.
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.
OPPONENT SCOUT
The in-state Huskies sit at 9-2 this season along with a 2-1 mark in road matches. NIU enters the weekend on a three-match winning streak with victories against Marquette, Chicago State, and Grinnell College. The Huskies' two defeats came against Wisconsin and Xavier.
Oregon arrives at Atkins Tennis Center with a 9-2 record. On a three-match winning streak, the Ducks spent the majority of their nonconference schedule at home – going 8-0 in those contests – while dropping their only true road match of the season thus far, a 4-3 defeat at Santa Clara on Feb. 1.
The Ducks do not feature any ranked singles players, though Pierre Mouesca and Matthew Burton check in at No. 39 in the most recent ITA doubles rankings. UO is slotted at No. 58 in the latest ITA team listing.
Washington enters Big Ten play with a 6-6 record and will take on Northwestern on Friday before coming to Champaign-Urbana. The Huskies most recently went 1-2 at the Diablos College Invitational, taking down Tulane while falling to Liberty and Michigan State.
The Huskies do not have any ranked singles student-athletes, while Soham Purohit and Brett Pearson head into the weekend at No. 58 in doubles.
SERIES HISTORY
Illinois and Northern Illinois will square off for the 19th time in series history on Friday, with the Illini holding an 18-0 edge all-time. The sides last met during the 2016-17 season, when the Orange and Blue posted a 4-0 victory. This marks the third meeting of the teams this century, as the sides also played in 2009.
Illinois' only two all-time matchups against Oregon came last season, with the sides splitting the two contests. The Ducks defeated the Illini during the regular season, a 4-3 Oregon win, before Illinois got its revenge in the Big Ten Tournament with a 4-1 victory. Friday serves as the third meeting between the sides.
The Illini are 6-1 in the all-time series against Washington, which includes a 6-1 road win over the Huskies last season. UW makes its first trip to Champaign-Urbana since 2010, when the Orange and Blue posted a 7-0 triumph.
ITA RANKINGS ROUNDUP
Team
- No. 11: Illinois
- No. 58: Oregon
Singles
Doubles
- No. 39: Pierre Mouesca/Matthew Burton (Oregon)
- No. 41: Kenta Miyoshi/Adam Jilly (Illinois)
- No. 58: Soham Purohit/Brett Pearson (Washington)
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.
