No. 27 Illinois (12-8, 5-4) conceded two consecutive 0-4 losses on Friday and Sunday.
The Illini had two contradictory weeks as they earned a pair of 4-0 wins on their Chicagoland road-trip, but dropped two 0-4 losses on their Michigan trip. Illinois now falls to a precarious 5-4 conference record and finds itself eighth on the Big Ten table.
Split regular season series
Illinois opened its road trip on Friday in Ann Arbor taking on a familiar foe in No. 21 Michigan (14-8, 8-2). The Illini faced the Wolverines earlier this season at home, winning 5-2. The second time was the charm for the Wolverines as they didn’t allow the Illini a sniff of the game.
“Tough weekend against two good teams,” said head coach Brad Dancer. “It’s frustrating as a coach because I think our guys are doing a lot of things right, but that’s kind of where we are at the moment. A loss is a loss, and we have to move forward. But we’ve got some positives from these two losses.”
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The dual started with a doubles shutout as Michigan won on courts two and three to secure the point. At the time of abandonment, the duo of redshirt sophomore Tyler Bowers and junior Kenta Miyoshi fought on court one, leading Michigan with a 5-4 score. But, fairly one-sided 6-2 and 6-3 losses set the tone for the rest of the dual for Illinois.
Before this weekend, Dancer talked about how vital the presence of Michigan’s All-American senior Gavin Young would be in the dual. Young didn’t take the court against Illinois earlier this season, but his presence in this dual was one of the keys for Michigan.
No. 54 Young secured Michigan’s winning point against Illinois’ No. 16 Miyoshi with a straight set singles win. It was Miyoshiʼs fourth loss of the season. Illinois’ other two singles losses were straight set defeats as well. The matches on courts two, three and four were abandoned with Illinois leading in all three.
“First thing we got to start with the double point, right?” Dancer said. “If we win the doubles point, it’s hard to say you win the match, but we would be in a really good position to win those matches. So, it starts with the doubles point. We haven’t played great doubles against better teams and that’s a big challenge for us.”
With this loss, Illinois now splits its season series against Michigan, 1-1. Whilst Illinois’ conference record took a hit, Michigan’s conference record keeps rising — it sits third on the Big Ten table.
Lockdown in East Lansing
Illinois’ Sunday dual against Michigan State (13-7, 6-2) saw another scoring lockdown for the team. Another statement doubles loss wrapped up the point on courts three and one with 6-1 and 6-2 defeats. Illinois has lost the doubles point in 10 out of its 20 duals this season. A 50% win rate in doubles leaves the singles matches with a lot of work.
“We’re not good enough yet,” Dancer said. “This is proof that we’re not good enough yet. We don’t have a lot of weeks left to get better, but it counts, and it’s time to do that.”
A similar story continued in the singles versus Michigan State. Losses on courts six, five and three sealed the dual for Michigan State, leaving matches on three courts unfinished. These proved to be key once again.
The Illini were either leading or tied in the third set of all three at the time of abandonment. If a couple more results went their way, the Illini could’ve made an impact on the score line.
With this loss, the Illini have now dropped three unranked duals this season.
Road woes
Illinois boasts an impeccable 6-1 home record this season, but its 3-7 away record has dictated how the year has gone. If Illinois holds aspirations of making a deep postseason run, success on the road will be vital.
“I think you have to have a lot of belief to win on the road,” said Dancer. “Thatʼs something we got to look at. How do we come out with a little bit more swagger? I think we’re fighting our tails off. Our fight is great, but how do we come out and be a little more prepared and ready to go on the road in the first set.”
The road-loss score lines have been concerning. Illinois has failed to score two or more points in six out of its seven away losses. Three of those have been 0-4 sweeps, with two others being 1-4 losses.
Illinois closes out the season with two more road duals that it desperately needs to win.
All guns blazing
Illinois controls its destiny with four duals left. Winning the rest would give Illinois a respectable 9-4 conference record. The last few fast-paced weeks lead to the Big Ten championships and NCAA tournament. It will be a test of the team’s winning DNA.
“This is it, it’s time,” Dancer said. “Despite where we are at the moment, we still have ambitions to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament if we can. That’s kind of a goal that sits out there for our guys. We know we have to probably win out the rest of our schedule to do that. So is that realistic? We actually think so. This team thinks so.”
Illinois returns home for the first time since March 23 to face No. 4 Ohio State (20-2, 9-0) on Friday. The Buckeyes handed the Illini their first 0-4 sweep earlier this season. That was in Buckeye territory, this time it will be in the Illini’s backyard.
“I think Friday is a big opportunity for us to keep applying what we’ve been doing,” said senior Mathis Debru. “I am really excited about it. The preparation will be very important and how we practice wholeheartedly and go after each other during the practices. I think those are a lot of things that can make a difference.”
