LOS ANGELES – No. 14 Illinois recorded its 20th win of the season on Saturday afternoon as the Fighting Illini earned a ranked road triumph, 4-2, over No. 24 UCLA in Los Angeles.
The Orange and Blue claimed the doubles point and singles victories on Courts 2, 5, and 6 to defeat the Bruins away from home. The hosts' two wins came at No. 3 and 4 singles.
Illinois took care of business in doubles play behind triumphs on Courts 1 and 3. David Bakonyi and Zach Viiala were first to finish with a 6-3 tally over Emon van Loben Sels and Gianluca Ballotta, marking the Illini duo's fourth straight win as a partnership. Gabriel Debru and Tyler Bowers secured the doubles point for the visitors with their 6-3 outing against Andy Nguyen and Aadarsh Tripathi at No. 1 doubles.
After the sides split the opening sets on the singles courts, Viiala collected his second victory of the day via his dominant 6-1, 6-1 effort against Leo von Bismarck on Court 6. The hosts then accounted for the next two singles successes on Courts 3 and 4.
With the match tied at 2-2, Adam Jilly completed his three-set win over Bengt Reinhard at No. 5 singles to put the Orange and Blue back in front. After the Hungarian dropped the opening frame, he bounced back with a 6-2 margin in the second set and a 6-1 tally in the third to claim his 20th singles triumph of the season.
It was ultimately Debru who clinched the Fighting Illini's road win with his fifth ranked decision of the season, defeating No. 24-ranked Emon van Lobel Sels in two sets.
RESULTS
Doubles
No. 1: Gabriel Debru/Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. Andy Nguyen/Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA), 6-3
No. 2: #51 Kenta Miyoshi/William Mroz (Illinois) vs. Bengt Reinhard/Rudy Quan (UCLA), 5-4, unfinished
No. 3: #77 David Bakonyi/Zach Viiala (Illinois) def. Emon van Loben Sels/Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA), 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1
Singles
No. 1: #16 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) vs. #86 Rudy Quan (UCLA), 6-3, 5-7, 1-1, unfinished
No. 2: #34 Gabriel Debru (Illinois) def. #24 Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA), 7-6(4), 7-6(3)
No. 3: Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) def. #93 William Mroz (Illinois), 6-4, 7-5
No. 4: Cassius Chinlund (UCLA) def. Sasha Colleu (Illinois), 6-3, 6-3Â Â
No. 5: Adam Jilly (Illinois) def. Bengt Reinhard (UCLA), 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
No. 6: Zach Viiala (Illinois) def. Leo von Bismarck (UCLA), 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 4, 3, 5, 2
UP NEXT
No. 14 Illinois (20-5, 9-2 B1G) wraps up its West Coast swing at USC on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
