DURHAM, N.C. – After a 4-0 weekend, the Illinois men’s tennis team is headed to North Carolina to take on No. 25 Duke and No. 14 Carolina.
About the Match
Illinois men’s tennis is ready to take on two Top 25 opponents on the east coast. The Illini are 0-2 against Top 25 opponents but 2-2 overall on the road.
The Illini are looking to improve on their doubles play, as they sit 0-2 this season when they don’t get the doubles point. However, over the past two years the Orange and Blue are 23-23 when they do get the doubles point.
Illinois is coming off 4-0 weekend after defeating Butler, Illinois State, Drake and Bellarmine, collecting a total of 21 points over the four matches.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION | DUKE (4-2)
In 13 seasons at the helm of the Duke program, Smith has compiled an overall record of 231-120 and a 90-48 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) ledger with six 20-win seasons. He has taken the Blue Devils to the NCAA Team Championship in 10 of his 14 seasons, winning the first-round match seven times and advancing to the Round of 16 on five different occasions. Smith has also guided Duke to a top-25 final ITA Team National Ranking seven times, including a mark of No. 7 following the 2013 season.
The Blue Devils are coming off their ITA Kickoff Weekend where they went 1-1 — a 2-4 loss against Middle Tennessee and a 4-0 win over #23 Auburn.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION | North Carolina (4-1)
Head coach Sam Paul is the winningest active coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference with over 500 wins and continues to take the Tar Heel program to new heights with no end in sight. Entering his 30th season as the Tar Heels’ head coach in 2022-23, he has led UNC to rare air in recent years, with the team’s first indoor national championship and first No. 1 ranking coming in 2016, the program’s first NCAA finals appearance in 2017, another NCAA semifinal berth in 2019 and a second indoor national title in 2021.
North Carolina went 2-0 on their ITA Kickoff Weekend — defeating Oklahoma State, 4-0 and Harvard, 4-1.
Host Illinois earn automatic berth to ITA National team Indoor Championships
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