NCAA Mens Tennis

No. 11 Illini Start Oklahoma Road Trip with Two Wins

Oklahoma State

STILLWATER, Okla. – No. 11 Illinois men’s tennis picked up two wins, first against Oral Roberts (4-0) and then against Tulsa (4-2), at Greenwood Tennis Center on Thursday. 

The Illini jumped up to 9-4 on the year, with Oral Roberts falling to 4-8 and Tulsa going to 6-11 overall. 

“Tulsa made it really challenging for us,” head coach Brad Dancer said. “A bunch of our guys did great, but the day goes to Lucas. He was steady as a rock, and I’m so thrilled he got that moment. He was a true leader for our team today.” 

Oral Roberts 

Lucas Horve and Tyler Bowers started things off for the Illini in doubles with a 6-1 win over Aaron Brewer and Parv Nage. Alex Petrov and Karlis Ozolins clinched the doubles point after a 6-3 victory against Cayden Cheek and Ryan Holloway. 

In singles, Jeremy Zhang swiftly took care of Cheek with a 6-1, 6-1 win. Bowers then defeated Aaron Brewer, 6-1, 6-1, with Kenta Miyoshi clinching the match with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Eli Brewer. 

Tulsa 

The second match of the day began with a 6-4 loss for Kenta Miyoshi and Mathis Debru at the hands of Victor Tosetto and Alex Okonkwo, the younger brother of Illini graduate student Oliver Okonkwo

No. 57-ranked Horve and Oliver Okonkwo turned it around with a 6-4 win over Gus Tettamble and Callum Gale. Tulsa went on to clinch the doubles point after No. 55-ranked Pierce Rollins and Timothy Seger defeated No. 3-ranked Ozolins and Hunter Heck, 6-4. 

Singles turned around after No. 39-ranked Heck triumphed over Rollins, 6-2, 6-2. No. 30-ranked Ozolins…

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