COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 14 Illinois' season came to a close in the NCAA Super Regional, falling on the road to No. 3 Ohio State, 4-0, on Friday evening in Columbus, Ohio.

The Buckeyes claimed the doubles point before taking singles wins on Courts 2, 4, and 6. The Fighting Illini finished the 2026 slate with a 24-8 record after advancing to the NCAA Super Regional round for the first time since 2021.

"Hats off to Ohio State for playing a phenomenal match today," said head coach Brad Dancer. "We knew we would probably get their best match of the year, and they came out and were very strong at a lot of positions. We had a few unforced errors in doubles, and they played well enough that those were the difference there. They played some great first sets. I thought our guys did a great job of hanging in there through all the delays.

"Kudos to Ohio State. At the spots we felt really strong, they were able to get us. Ohio State deserves all the credit for that match, and I hope they represent the Big Ten well the rest of the way."

The Orange and Blue sent two doubles matches to a tiebreak, but the home side used victories at the No. 1 and 3 positions to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Illinois secured one first set, which came from Zach Viiala on Court 5. Gabriel Debru forced a third set on the top singles court, but the Buckeyes posted three straight singles triumphs to close out their win.

RESULTS

Doubles
No. 1: #8 Brandon Carpico/Nikita Filin (Ohio State) def. Gabriel Debru/Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 7-6(4) 
No. 2: Tyler Bowers/William Mroz (Illinois) vs. #45 Aidan Kim/Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State), 6-6, unfinished
No. 3: #44 Alex Okonkwo/Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. David Bakonyi/Zach Viiala (Illinois), 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 1

Singles
No. 1: #18 Gabriel Debru (Illinois) vs. #11 Aidan Kim (Ohio State), 3-6, 6-3, 0-3, unfinished
No. 2: #32 Jack Anthrop (Ohio State) def. #16 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-4, 6-3
No. 3: #96 William Mroz (Illinois) vs. #31 Preston Stearns (Ohio State), 5-7, 4-2, unfinished
No. 4: #95 Nikita Filin (Ohio State) def. Adam Jilly (Illinois), 6-1, 6-4
No. 5: Zach Viiala (Illinois) vs. Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State), 6-2, 3-6, 1-0, unfinished
No. 6: Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. Hayden Jones (Illinois), 6-2, 6-2

Order of finish: 4, 6, 2