Illinois men’s tennis faces a tough home matchup against No. 4 Ohio State on Sunday. The two teams have already played each other this season, resulting in tough 4-0 and 6-1 losses for the Illini. That being said, this upcoming match could serve as redemption for the team as they look to make a statement against a tough-ranked side. Coming off a dominant 4-0 routing of Penn State, the Illini will look to carry that momentum into their meeting with the Buckeyes.

So far this season Illinois has been perfect at home, now sitting with a 7-0 home unbeaten streak. Ohio State will prove to be a challenge, but one that Illinois is looking forward to. Having already met this Buckeye squad on two occasions, graduate student Nic Meister understands the pressures that come with this upcoming Big Ten matchup.

“Anytime we play Ohio State there’s an elevated amount of motivation and emotions,” Meister said. “Because of all the history and the teams just don’t particularly really like each other.”

Illinois has been on the wrong end of results in recent history, having only won one of their last ten matchups against Ohio State. However, the team will look to improve their all-time record with a win in this matchup, which would result in the Illini getting their 59th all-time win against the Buckeyes. Despite Ohio State’s ranked status, the team’s mentality can be summarized with Meister’s beliefs.

“Whether they’re ranked No. 4, No. 2, No. 1 or twenty-something, the motivation to want to beat them regardless of what’s happened in previous times is always at an all-time high,” Meister said.

Being about 3/4ths of the way into the season, Illinois has a strong mentality regarding what they still need to accomplish. No matter what place you’re at on the team, the mindset is very similar. The Illini want to surprise everyone by putting their full talents on display, but sometimes the only thing holding them back is themselves.

While Illinois will be looking to use its impressive win over Penn State as momentum moving forward, it’s being done against an Ohio State team that is coming off an equally impressive dismantling of Northwestern on Friday. After being completely swept by Ohio State last time, the Illini have a big task ahead of them. With the undefeated home record and seasons of rivalry on the line, this matchup is gearing up to be special.

Illinois men’s tennis will serve at noon this Sunday looking for its biggest win of the season against a familiar opponent in the Ohio State Buckeyes.

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