URBANA, Ill. – No. 14 Illinois advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals with a 4-0 sweep against No. 24 Vanderbilt at Atkins Tennis Center on Saturday night. 

The Orange and Blue claimed the doubles point before capturing singles victories on Courts 2, 3, and 6.

The Illini took control early, securing the doubles point. Tyler Bowers and William Mroz handled business on court 2 with a 6-4 win over Vanderbilt's Pablo Martinez Gomez and Callum Markowitz. On court 3, David Bakonyi and Zach Viiala were down 2-1 early when the Commodores were given a point for fan interference. This seemed to light a fire under the Illini as the duo used the momentum to cruise to a 6-3 win over Danil Panarin and Jack Satterfield. 

The crowd kept up the energy, and the Orange and Blue were feeding off it. In singles play, Illinois won all six opening sets. Miyoshi maintained his consistent play, dismantling No. 97-ranked Hoyoung Roh, 6-1, 6-3. Mroz followed it up by taking care of Vanderbilt's Danil Panarin, 6-1, 6-4. 

It was ultimately Debru and Zhang going back and forth to see who would clinch the win for the Illini. Zhang would get there first, defeating the Commodores' Donghyun Hwang, 6-3, 6-3, on court 6.

Illinois' back-to-back sweeps sent them to their first Super Regional appearance since 2021.

RESULTS

Doubles
No. 1: Gabriel Debru/Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) vs. #13 Nathan Cox/Hoyoung Roh (Vanderbilt), 5-6, unfinished
No. 2: Tyler Bowers/William Mroz (Illinois) def. Pablo Martinez Gomez/Callum Markowitz (Vanderbilt), 6-4
No. 3: David Bakonyi/Zach Viiala (Illinois) def. Danil Panarin/Jack Satterfield  (Vanderbilt), 6-3

Order of finish: 2, 3

Singles
No. 1: #18 Gabriel Debru (Illinois) vs. #72 Pablo Martinez Gomez  (Vanderbilt), 6-4, 6-6, unfinished 
No. 2: #16 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. #97 Hoyoung Roh (Vanderbilt), 6-1, 6-3
No. 3: #96 William Mroz (Illinois) def. Danil Panarin  (Vanderbilt), 6-1, 6-4
No. 4: Adam Jilly (Illinois) vs. Nathan Cox (Vanderbilt), 7-5, 5-5, unfinished
No. 5: Hayden Jones (Illinois) vs. Jack Satterfield (Vanderbilt), 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
No. 6: Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) def. Donghyun Hwang (Vanderbilt), 6-3, 6-3

Order of finish: 2, 3, 6

UP NEXT

No. 14 Illinois (24-7) earned its spot in the NCAA Super Regionals and will take on No. 3 Ohio State on the road on Friday.