Duke Edged by Illinois, 5-2

DURHAM – No. 8 Duke men’s tennis dropped a 5-2 decision to Illinois on Friday night at the Atkins Tennis Center.
 
The Blue Devils were handed their first loss of the season and dip to 5-1 overall. Illinois improves to 3-2.
 
How It Happened

• The Illini began doubles play with a 6-3 victory from Oliver Okonkwo and Lucas Horve over No. 14 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang on court two. The Blue Devils responded with a 6-4 win of their own on court three when Faris Khan and Connor Krug defeated Kenta Miyoshi and Mathis Debru. With the doubles point hanging on the outcome from court one, No. 4 Karlis Ozolins and Hunter Heck outlasted Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas, 6-3, to claim the point.  
• Illinois then extended its edge to 3-0 after two singles wins on court one and five, respectively. No. 55 Ozolins bested Johns on the top court 6-3, 6-3, before William Mroz registered a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Andrew Dale on court five.
• Duke would not go away though, chipping away at the lead following wins by Jake Krug and Connor Krug. On court six, Jake Krug remained undefeated on the year after his 6-3, 6-4 victory over Horve. Twin brother Connor Krug then claimed a 7-5, 6-2 win over Alex Petrov on court four to cut the Illini lead down to 3-2.
• No. 17 Miyoshi then bested Zhang on court three in three sets to secure the victory for the home side. Miyoshi recorded a 6-3 win during the first set, but Zhang battled back for a 6-3 victory in the second. Unfortunately, Miyoshi bounced back for a 6-3 win in the final frame to earn the victory.
• Despite the overall match already being…