SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Tyler Bowers and Jeremy Zhang combined for seven singles wins and two doubles victories while representing the Fighting Illini men’s tennis program at the Notre Dame Mini Duals from Nov. 1-3.
The competition saw student-athletes team up and compete in a mini-dual format, which featured one doubles match and two singles matches against a team of two players. Bowers and Zhang picked up two wins in that format.
Bowers went 4-0 in singles play across the three-day event, while Zhang finished with a 3-1 mark of his own. As a doubles duo, Bowers and Zhang went 2-1.
Round 1
Bowers and Zhang began their time in South Bend on Friday afternoon with a dominant victory over a duo representing the hosting Fighting Irish. The Illini tandem teamed up for a 6-1 doubles win against Notre Dame’s Brian Bilsey/Jayanth Devaiah before moving on to singles play.
Zhang took down Devaiah in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, while Bowers secured a two-set win of his own, 6-3, 6-4, against Bilsey.
The win saw the Orange and Blue duo advance to the second round of the mini-dual format, progressing to face Louisville’s Miguel Avendaño and Kosuke Nakanishi.
Round 2
The Illini closed out the first day of competition with a narrow 6-4 defeat to Louisville in doubles play, which meant they needed to win both singles matches against the Cardinals on Saturday to book a place in the semifinals.
On Saturday, Bowers picked up his second straight-set triumph of the weekend, defeating Louisville’s Avendaño by a 6-2, 6-4 scoreline. Zhang then fell to the Cardinals’ Nakanishi in straight sets, which saw the Illini duo move into the consolation bracket.
Round 3
Illinois bounced back following its loss in the dual-match format, picking up a 3-0 victory over Ohio State duo JP Day and Reese Yakubov. Bowers and Zhang battled to a 7-6(3) win in doubles play before moving into singles play with a 1-0 lead.
Zhang clinched the dual-match win for the Orange and Blue with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Day. Bowers was not far behind, securing the sweep with a 6-4, 6-1 victory of his own to close out the second day of competition.
Final Round
The last day of the event featured a singles-only slate, but the Illini closed their time in South Bend on a strong note. Taking on student-athletes from Michigan, Illinois went 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.
The…
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