Illinois took the fight out of the Fighting Irish on Thursday night when the men’s tennis team defeated Notre Dame 6-1.

“We did it right,” said Illinois head coach Craig Tiley. “We did a better job in doubles and were controlling all the singles matches since the beginning.”

But the Illini were celebrating more than their victory Thursday night – Illinois senior Chris Martin returned to the lineup. Martin had been out of the lineup since November with stress fractures in his legs.

“When he’s on the court he brings more confidence to the team,” Tiley said.

Martin joined freshman Brandon Davis to win their doubles match over Stephen Bass and Barry King 8-5.

Martin credits his younger teammate with the duo’s success.

“Brandon definitely carried us tonight,” Martin said. “Hopefully, I’ll get to play with him again.”

However, Martin said that his time off allowed him to more fully understand the mental aspects of tennis. Watching other athletes get flustered when they lost points helped him understand how to better exploit momentum changes.

“It’s always a huge learning experience when you’re away from competition,” Martin said. “Tennis is simple.”

Martin was not the only Illini player to make an impressive return to the lineup. Illinois sophomore GD Jones, who has not played with the team since the end of February, returned as well. Jones competed for New Zealand’s Davis Cup team in New Zealand during the Illini’s last outings.

Jones defeated Notre Dame sophomore Barry King in straight sets 7-6 (7), 6-3.

“He was quite a tricky player,” Jones said.

King clinched Notre Dame’s last 4-3 victory over Rice last week.

Jones’ win over King came after Jones and Illinois junior Ryler DeHeart defeated Brent D’Amico and Ryan Keckley 8-2. Jones and DeHeart are ranked No. 5 in the nation.

Illinois freshman Kevin Anderson, who lost his last singles match against Indiana’s Jakub Praibis, also returned to the winners column this weekend.

“I feel I did pretty well,” Anderson said. “We played better in doubles and showed some improvement.”

The Illini will need to continue to show improvement with their upcoming spring break trip to California.

Illinois will take on USC, Pepperdine and Stanford during their trip through California. The three schools are among the nation’s best every year. The Illini will be able to gauge their progress since the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Team tournament, as well.

Stanford and USC were both on hand during the tournament.

“It will be a good trip and a good way to measure ourselves, again, against the best teams in the country,” Illinois senior Evan Zeder said.

The trip signals the start of the outdoor season for the team.

“We’re looking forward to going outdoors and see how the guys do making the adjustment,” Tiley said.

The adjustment to outdoor competition can be difficult for several reasons. Environmental elements like the weather and the sun become a factor when outdoor competition starts. This will also be the last leg of the team’s long road trip. The Illini have not played at home since February.

“It’s sad that it is our last spring break trip,” Martin said.

But, the Illini are excited too.

Heading outdoors means the championship season will be quickly approaching, and the Illini are looking forward to the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.

“It’s really exciting to be playing outdoors,” Jones said. “We have a goal to win NCAAs every year.”