LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 15 ranked Fighting Illini men's tennis team garnered a 4-1 road victory over Nebraska Sunday afternoon to improve to 6-1 in Big Ten play. The Orange and Blue extend their winning streak to seven matches and move to 15-7 overall.
"Not our cleanest day of play, but I have to give Nebraska a lot of credit. They held really tough in doubles and have some great hitters that kept us on our toes," head coach Brad Dancer said. "It was a big day for Brian Page. He was demonstrative in doubles and singles, providing the clinch, and more importantly set the tone for the team with his spirit. He has a lot of fire in him and his teammates can feed of that energy."
Illinois dropped the doubles point for the first time in the last eight matches. Julian Childers and Brian Page claimed their second doubles victory of the road trip, winning 6-2 on court three over Dzulynsky/Zitsch. However, Nebraska garnered wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles position to take the early advantage.
Illinois responded in singles to take the first set in five matches. No. 4 Aleks Vukic garnered the first point for the Illini with a win at No. 2 singles. Vukic defeated Marc Herrmann by the scores of 6-4, 6-4 to extend his winning steak to seven-consecutive matches.
No. 57 Aron Hiltzik gave Illinois the 2-1 lead with a straight set (6-4, 6-2) win on court three over Toby Boyer. Hiltzik improves to 4-0 in Big Ten play.
Asher Hirsch increased the Illini lead to 3-1, garnering a victory on court five. Hirsch topped Tomislav Antoljak 6-4, 6-4.
Page clinched the match for Illinois by defeating Bradford Zitsch 7-6, 6-3 on court six. Page garnered one singles win and two doubles wins over the weekend.
The Orange and Blue return home for their final regular season homestand of the season. UI will host Michigan State on Friday, March 15, at 4 p.m. before hosting Michigan on Sunday, March 17, at Noon.
"It's going to be a fun weekend hosting, as we look to keep ourselves alive in the Big Ten race," Dancer said.
#15 Illinois 4, Nebraska 1
Singles competition
1. #122 Dusty Boyer (NEB) vs. #11 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) 2-6, 6-3, 5-3
2. #4 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. Marc Herrmann (NEB) 6-4, 6-4
3. #57 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. Toby Boyer (NEB) 6-4, 6-2
4. Andrew Dzulynsky (NEB) vs. Julian Childers (ILL) 3-6, 6-1, 2-0
5. Asher Hirsch (ILL) def. Tomislav Antoljak (NEB) 6-4, 6-4
6. Brian Page (ILL) def. Bradford Zitsch (NEB) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Dusty Boyer/Toby Boyer (NEB) def. Jared Hiltzik/Pengxuan Jiang (ILL) 6-3
2. Scott Elsass/Marc Herrmann (NEB) def. Aleks Vukic/Aron Hiltzik (ILL) 7-6 (8-6)
3. Brian Page/Julian Childers (ILL) def. Andrew Dzulynsky/Bradford Zitsch (NEB) 6-2
Match Notes:
Illinois 15-7 (6-1); National ranking #15
Nebraska 11-9 (2-5)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,5,6)
A-93
