EVANSTON, Ill. – The No. 8 Fighting Illini men's tennis team failed to complete a comeback victory against No. 11 Northwestern Saturday afternoon in Evanston. Illinois fell 4-3 to the Wildcats, suffering its first loss to Northwestern since 1997. Illinois moves to 7-6 on the season.
"I give Northwestern a lot of credit. We had winning positions and multiple match points in spots where they came back and won," head coach Brad Dancer said. "Once we didn't capitalize, Northwestern did a good job of seizing opportunities. I'm not sure how to express the team's gratitude to the Net Nuts and all our alumni that made a road trip turn into an electric home atmosphere. Our students and all our supporters in Chicago are incredible. THANK YOU from the whole team."
The Illini garnered a 6-3 victory from Jared Hiltzik and Alex Jesse on court, but it was not enough to take the doubles point over the Wildcats. Northwestern took the early advantage, as Julian Childers and Pengxuan Jiang fell to 6-3 to Horoz/Kumar and Aron Hiltzik and Aleks Vukic fell 6-4 to Zieba/Shropshire. Hiltzik and Jesse defeated Baev/Kirchheimer.
Northwestern extended its lead with a win on court six, as Brian Page fell to Alp Horoz in straight sets. Julian Childers put the Illini on the board with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Fedor Baev on court four.
All four remaining matches went to a third set. No. 63 Aron Hiltzik evened the score at 2-2 with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over No. 95 Strong Kirchheimer on court three.
NU swung the momentum on its side with a win on court two to take a 3-2 advantage. No. 8 Jared Hiltzik fell 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to No. 83 Sam Shropshire.
No. 6 Aleks Vukic responded for the Illini to even the score at 3-3. Vukic took down No. 11 Konrad Zieba 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
The match would come down to No. 6 singles, with two freshman battling to clinch the Big Ten opener. Northwestern's Ben Vandixhorn sealed the victory for the Wildcats with a 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 win over Asher Hirsch.
"We need to have that growing mindset and building toward specific purposes," Dancer said. "It's an important time for all of us to have ownership. We are definitely looking to getting to California and the competition against Baylor."
Up next, the Fighting Illini will head to Indian Wells, California to take on Baylor. Competition will begin at 1 p.m. CT on March 18.
#11 Northwestern 4, #8 Illinois 3
Singles
1. #6 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. #11 Konrad Zieba (NU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
2. #83 Sam Shropshire (NU) def. #8 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
3. #63 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. #95 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
4. Julian Childers (ILL) def. Fedor Baev (NU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
5. Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. Asher Hirsch (ILL) 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
6. Alp Horoz (NU) def. Brian Page (ILL) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
1. Jared Hiltzik/Alex Jesse (ILL) def. Fedor Baev/Strong Kirchheimer (NU) 6-3
2. Konrad Zieba/Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Aron Hiltzik/Aleks Vukic (ILL) 6-4
3. Alp Horoz/Mihir Kumar (NU) def. Julian Childers/Pengxuan Jiang (ILL) 6-3
Match Notes:
Illinois 7-6; National ranking #8
Northwestern 13-1; National ranking #11
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,4,3,2,1,5)
Official: John Coleman T-2:49 A-457
