ANN ARBOR, Mich. – No. 25-ranked Fighting Illini men’s tennis (18-10, 6-3 B1G) dropped their regular-season finale, 6-1, to No. 7 Michigan (22-3, 8-1 B1G) at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.
“Michigan is a good team,” head coach Brad Dancer said. “On the road, you have to come up with just that little something extra. Our guys fought hard but Michigan outplayed us at positions. It’s a very short week and we know we have a big challenge on Friday, so there’s nothing to do except focus all of our attention on preparing for Nebraska.”
Illini pair Gabrielius Guzauskas and William Mroz were the first to fal in doublesl, losing 6-4 to Jacob Bickersteth and Ondrej Styler. The Wolverines clinched the doubles point after No. 55 Oliver Okonkwo and Mathis Debru lost 6-3 to Nino Ehrenschneider and Patrick Maloney.
No. 36 Karlis Ozolins and Hunter Heck’s match went unfinished at 4-4 against No. 8 Gavin Young and Andrew Fenty.
Alex Petov dropped his match first, falling 6-4, 6-2 to No.33 Maloney with Heck following with a 6-4, 7-6 (5), loss to No. 7 Styler.
Michigan clinched the match when Ehrenschneider defeated Mroz, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
The two teams decide to play out; which led to Miyoshi falling to Bickersteth, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
Both No. 48 Ozolins and Okonkwo found themselves in third sets. Okonkwo fell first – a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Young for his first Big Ten loss. Ozolins then took the lone Illini win over No. 11 Fenty, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-5.
Up Next
Illinois will head over to Bloomington, Ind. for the Big Ten Tournament. The Illini have earned the 4 seed, giving them a bye and allowing them to start on Friday, April 28 at 11 a.m. CT.
Results
Doubles
No. 1 – No. 8 Fenty/Young (U-M) vs. No. 36 Heck/Ozolins (UL) 4-4 unfinished
No. 2 – Maloney/Ehrenschneider (U-M) d. No. 55 Okonkwo/Mathis Debru (UL) 6-3
No. 3 – Styler/Bickersteth (U-M) d. Mroz/Gabrielius Guzauskas (UL) 6-4
Singles
No. 1 –.No. 48 Karlis Ozolins (UL) d. 11 Andrew Fenty (U-M) 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 – No. 7 Ondrej Styler (U-M) d. Hunter Heck (UL) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
No. 3 – No. 33 Patrick Maloney (U-M) d. No. 90 Alex Petrov (UL) 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 – Nino Ehrenschneider (U-M) d. William Mroz (UL) 6-3, 7-6 (4)
No. 5 – No. 53 Gavin Young (U-M) d. Oliver Okonkwo (UL) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 – Jacob Bickersteth (U-M)…
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