After a narrow 4-3 road victory over Notre Dame, No. 23 Illinois men’s tennis returns for a doubleheader against Eastern Illinois and No. 14 Baylor this Friday.
The Illini are on a three-match winning streak and eager to keep their momentum going against a pair of familiar opponents. Last season, they claimed a 4-2 win over the Bears in Waco, Texas, while the season before saw a 4-0 win over the Panthers. Wrapped into a single day this season, the Illini will search for similar results.
Many of the same people who secured those two wins are still around. Graduate student Oliver Okonkwo, redshirt senior Lucas Horve, senior Hunter Heck, senior Alex Petrov, junior Mathis Debru and junior Karlis Ozolins were all active against Baylor last season while Heck and Horve contributed to Illinois’ win over Eastern Illinois.
Sitting at 5-2 on the year, Petrov is confident with where the Illini are at so far.
“Overall, I think we’re in a really good space with the guys,” Petrov said. “We’re ready for it and the vibes are definitely good.”
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Accountability stemming from the players is at the heart of maintaining the Illini’s winning ways, according to Petrov. He said that being honest with each other after every match will only lead to more improvement.
“I think the big thing is having accountability more from the guys than the coaches,” Petrov said. “I think the more we keep doing that, the more we keep getting better, as long as we’re each keeping each other accountable and talking to each other before and after every match.”
The Illini understand the importance of communicating with each other and making sure everyone is on the same. Although they primarily compete on their own in singles, progress and growth would be challenging to achieve without the team’s support.
Ahead of Illinois’ upcoming matches on Friday, Petrov said that he is confident and improving with every passing match.
“I feel good,” Petrov said. “Things are getting better every week, and the more matches I play, the better.”
Illinois was originally scheduled to host No. 2 TCU this weekend, but those plans fell through. Thus, Illinois was able to schedule Eastern Illinois to not miss a match. Illinois’ schedule still has plenty of opportunities against the best of the best, as it has No. 1 Ohio State next up after this weekend.
No. 23 Illinois’ doubleheader begins with Eastern Illinois at 10 a.m. this Friday before returning to Atkins Tennis Center at 6 p.m. for No. 14 Baylor.
