Illinois men’s tennis competed against Penn State this Friday and left no mercy as they went undefeated. The team bounced back from a tough loss to No. 1 TCU and made a statement against a weaker Penn State side, winning 4-0. This win continues the team’s impressive undefeated home streak they’ve had so far this season.

In doubles matches the No. 49-ranked duo, junior Hunter Heck and sophomore Karlis Ozolins, dismantled Charl Morgan and Malik Bhatnagar 6-3 while No. 56-ranked duo sophomore Mathis Debru and graduate student Oliver Okonkwo powered through Loren Byers and Sam Bossem 6-2. The last doubles match with junior Alex Petrov and freshman Kenta Miyoshi went unfinished as they led Stefan Simeunovic and Miko Eala 5-2. At the end of the day, the Illini showed strong in their duos matches.

Moving on to singles matches: Only three out of the six matches actually finished, all resulting in an Illini win. The matches started with No. 33 Ozolins defeating Morgan 6-1, 6-4. The match-deciding points came from Okonkwo and graduate student Nic Meister, who picked up impressive wins on courts five and six. Sophomore William Mroz, Heck and Petrov all had their matches go unfinished with Petrov leading his match and Heck and Mroz trailing in theirs.

This was an excellent start for the team to begin Big Ten competition at home and also continued the team’s unbeaten home record. The Illini now sit 13-7 overall on the season and that includes a 7-0 home record so far. After this matchup, the Illini next face Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan State and Michigan. This win was a solid start to their upcoming Big Ten matchups.

Illinois men’s tennis play against No. 4 Ohio State next on Sunday, where the team will look to continue its undefeated home record on the season. An accomplishment that is much easier said than done. Nonetheless, the Illini will be looking for a statement win over a Buckeye squad that has bested them 4-0 and 6-1 so far this season.

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