Illinois (14-10, 7-6) closed the regular season with a split on its Pacific Northwest road trip. Its journey began with a narrow 3-4 loss to Oregon (13-12, 5-8) Friday, then ended on a high note with a dominant 6-1 victory over Washington (16-7, 8-5) Sunday.
Illini drop tight battle
Oregon grabbed momentum early by taking the doubles point after winning two of the three matches. Illinois’ lone doubles victory came from the Mroz brothers, Max and William. The brothers were paired together for the first time at the collegiate level and earned a 6-4 win.
In singles, junior Kenta Miyoshi continued his dominant campaign with a straight-set win over sophomore Lenn Luemkemann. It was Miyoshi’s team-leading 27th singles win this season. Senior Mathis Debru and redshirt sophomore Tyler Bowers also picked up wins for the Illini at No. 6 and No. 3, respectively. No. 110 junior Vlad Breazu upset No. 76 William Mroz to secure the Ducks’ victory.
Illini bounce back in Seattle
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The Illini quickly rebounded from the loss. They traveled to Bill Quillian Tennis Stadium in Seattle to face No. 39 Washington in the regular-season finale.
Illinois started its run early, picking up the doubles points with back-to-back wins. The duos of Tyler Bowers and Mathis Debru, and Kenta Miyoshi and Max Mroz, each emerged victorious. Bowers and Debru were playing for the first time together. They quickly found their stride with a 6-1 win over sophomore Soham Purohit and senior Nedim Suko. Miyoshi and Mroz secured the deal with a 6-2 victory over senior Cesar Bouchelaghem and senior Dzianis Zharyn.
In singles play, Illinois wasted little time extending its lead. Debru secured a free point at No. 5 after his opponent retired due to injury. Shortly after, Miyoshi battled through a tough three-set match to defeat No. 35 Bouchelaghem at the No. 1 spot, finishing his impressive conference season with an 8-2 record.
Bowers then clinched the match for Illinois, coming from behind to defeat Zharyn in three sets, notching his second singles victory of the weekend. Max Mroz and sophomore Jeremy Zhang also contributed points with hard-fought three-set wins at the No. 6 and No. 4 spots, respectively.
Big Ten tournament up next
The Illini now turn their attention to the Big Ten championship, where they were seeded at No. 8 on Monday. Illinois aims to bounce back from its close loss to Oregon when it returns to action in the conference tournament, set for April 24-27.
