There is a new powerhouse in Big Ten men’s tennis.

A year ago, Illinois was a dominant force in the conference and the nation. This weekend, it entered the Big Ten Tournament looking for its ninth tournament title in 10 years.

On Sunday, however, Ohio State proved that it was the Big Ten’s best this year, defeating Illinois 4-2 in the finals of the Big Ten tournament.

“We were disappointed that we didn’t get the title,” Illinois head coach Brad Dancer said. “We had the match on our racket and we lost it.”

Ohio State defeated the Illini in the Big Ten Tournament finals in 2001 and snapped Illinois’ 86- straight regular season conference match winning streak this year.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating to lose,” senior Pramod Dabir said. “They played well and they fought hard.”

Illinois came out firing, hoping to avenge its only regular season loss, by taking the doubles point. Sophomore standouts Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe, who are ranked fourth in the country, upset the nation’s top-ranked doubles team of Scott Green and Ross Wilson, 8-4, to put the Illini ahead in the doubles contest. Junior GD Jones and sophomore Ruben Gonzales knocked off Chris Klingemann and Devin Mullings to clinch the doubles point for the Illini.

“In college, rankings aren’t everything,” Rowe said. “Kevin and I are better tennis players than both of them, so we just tried to play the best we were able to.”

Any momentum the Illini gained in the match quickly shifted in the Buckeye’s favor though, and Ohio State proved why it is the only Big Ten team that has been able to beat Illinois in recent history.

“We kicked them in the teeth (by winning the doubles point),” Dancer said. “But they have matured a lot as a team since last year, and our guys looked like they were not used to competing in that intensity and in that environment.”

Ohio State started by evening the score in singles when Bryan Koniecko, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, took down Illinois’ Ryler DeHeart, the Big Ten Player of the Year. Koniekco defeated DeHeart 7-6(4), 6-1. Denny Mertens gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the evening when he took down Illini freshman Marc Spicijaric, 6-3, 6-0.

“They played surprising well at (those) spots – hats off to them,” Dancer said.

Anderson, despite suffering from multiple injuries all season, got the Illini back in the match defeating Klingemann.

“My singles performance was much better than it has been,” Anderson said. “Getting back after the injuries has been a slow process. But, I’m really excited to be back and playing well.”

Shortly after Anderson put the Illini back in contention for the title, a Rowe loss put Gonzales and Jones in a must-win situation. When Gonzales came up short, losing to Wilson, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, the Buckeyes claimed the top spot in the Big Ten. Jones’ match was suspended when Wilson clinched the tournament title for Ohio State.

“I can’t even put into words how happy I am right now,” said Ohio State head coach Ty Tucker in a press release. “A lot of people think they are the best indoor team in the country. I think we showed we are the better team and validated our regular-season title.”

With their win, the Buckeyes earned an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Illinois will apply for an at-large bid.

“We’re definitely going to keep working hard,” Dabir said. “Being part of a great team means proving your resiliency. We’re going to go out there and take the big one – the NCAA title.”