Illinois (2-2) comes out of its second weekend with one loss and one win to stay .500 on the season. After a 1-1 ITA Kickoff Weekend, Illinois faced No. 7 Duke (7-0) and North Carolina (2-2) on a two-game road trip. Illinois has now lost both of its ranked duals this season.
The Illini bounced back on Saturday, Feb. 1, to win against the Tar Heels and take momentum into their home patch, which starts on Saturday, Feb. 15.
Doubles woes
Illinois struggled in doubles on the road trip, but not because of No. 30 redshirt junior William Mroz and sophomore Jeremy Zhang: They were the only victorious Illinois duo in both duals. They won against No. 14 Tennessee and had an unfinished match against Auburn, making them Illinois’ only undefeated duo so far.
No. 14 junior Kenta Miyoshi and senior Mathis Debru have yet to win a doubles match this season; in fact, they have failed to win more than four games in any match this season. As they return to home soil, the team hopes for rekindled energy in the doubles round to push Illinois forward.
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Contrasting singles results
Redshirt sophomore Tyler Bowers’ singles win against Duke’s No. 37 junior Sam Landau gave Illinois hope for a comeback. However, this hope was short-lived, as the Blue Devils won three straight singles matches to complete a scoreline of 4-1, winning the matchup. Duke wrapped up the win in two hours and thirty-seven minutes with two unfinished matches.
After losing a point to the Tar Heels in the doubles round, the Illini struck back in singles to grab the win. Debru grabbed the first win for Illinois with back-to-back 6-1 and 6-2 set wins. This was only Debru’s second completed singles match of the season, with an Illinois victory in both.
Mroz backed up Debru’s win by taking his own match. North Carolina didn’t put up much of a fight as Mroz put Illinois ahead 2-1 with a pair of 6-2 sets. Although North Carolina pushed back with a singles win by No. 80 freshman Chris Xu, it didn’t make a big enough dent in Illinois’ lead.
Bowers followed up his performance against Duke with another singles win, upsetting North Carolina No. 68 redshirt freshman Anthony Wright. Bowers gave wings to the Illinois comeback with his two back-to-back ranked upsets.
Miyoshi came back after falling behind by two breaks in the first set. He won consecutive tie-breakers to seal the deal for Illinois.
Home Stretch
After a balanced start to the season, Illinois returns home for three home duals. Both its losses were to top-15 teams on the road. A homecoming provides an opportunity to build momentum and swing Illinois back into the win column.
Although their doubles games need work, the Illini have time to figure it out as there are multiple weeks until the next contest. Illinois starts its doubleheader weekend on Saturday, Feb. 16, against Clemson (5-0) and Notre Dame (6-1) at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, at the Atkins Tennis Center.
