The Illinois men’s tennis team remained undefeated in the Big Ten this weekend, but a non-conference loss to Notre Dame left it a step behind the nation’s elite.

The Illini jumped in front early against the Fighting Irish, taking the doubles point and three of the six first sets in singles. But they lost all three of those matches as Notre Dame stormed back and turned Illinois’ advantage into a convincing defeat.

“Needless to say, we have to finish matches,” Illinois coach Brad Dancer said.

After Illinois won the doubles, Notre Dame took the fifth and sixth singles spots relatively easily for a 2-1 lead. But the strength of the Illinois lineup is at the top, and Kevin Anderson, GD Jones and Marc Spicijaric all took their first sets for a convincing lead.

As those three matches began their second sets, though, the tide began to turn. The Illini played sloppily in the opening games and could never regain their momentum. Notre Dame took the second sets by a combined score of 18-4 and went on to win five consecutive singles bouts to clinch the dual match. Ryan Rowe’s three-set comeback win at third singles, won after the match was decided, would be the only Illinois victory.

“The Irish competed really well, hats off to them,” Dancer said. “(But) that’s really frustrating. I think we’ve got to do a better job as coaches to make sure our guys are prepared as possible.”

The loss came just two days after No. 3 Ohio State swept Notre Dame 7-0 in Columbus. It’s a bad sign for an Illinois team looking to unseat the Buckeyes in two weeks and regain its traditional spot atop the Big Ten.

“We never compare ourselves,” Dancer said. “When you start comparing yourself, you can lose your sanity there very quickly. We’ll be ready to go against Ohio State when it comes.”

On Saturday, the Illini kept pace with the Buckeyes in the Big Ten standings with a relatively routine 6-1 win over Northwestern. On a day when the Illinois men’s tennis team honored its best players from the last 100 years, it was the team’s newest member that clinched the winning point.

Freshman walk-on Jordan Knue claimed the deciding point with his first dual match singles win, and the Illini recovered from a shaky start in doubles to trounce the Wildcats.

Knue lost his first set 6-0 and looked headed for another loss. But he took over the match in the last two sets, attacking the net time after time for a 0-6, 6-1, 6-1 win.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a while,” Knue said. “I’ve fallen behind in the first set in my last few matches, lost pretty bad, and I was able to do a little better in the second set but not turn the match all the way around. Today, I was able to do that.”

Fighting wind that shook not just the Atkins Tennis Center flags but the flagpoles themselves, the Illini fell behind early breaks at the bottom two doubles spots. But both doubles pairs recovered, the Illini swept the doubles and Northwestern never challenged again.

“We came out really slow, we had a lack of energy,” sophomore Marc Spicijaric said. “There were tough conditions, it was really windy. We just started going for it more, swinging out on our shots, and I think that helped.”

100th season celebration

The Illinois men’s tennis team celebrated its 100-year anniversary during its match with Northwestern Saturday, honoring an all-century team and welcoming back a number of its former players.

The 16-member team was named to a total of 16 All-American teams and had five individual national champions as well as seven members of the 2003 NCAA team champions.

Chris Martin, a 2005 graduate, was named the team’s honorary captain. He was one of a host of former players that returned for the Northwestern match and was also one of the most vocal fans, leading cheers with a drumstick and cowbell.

“I’m honored that the guys thought of me that way, and I like to think I’ve been a good influence on them,” Martin said. “You’ve got to be passionate about your school, and you’ve got to be passionate about your team.”