Freshman Sasha Colleu showcased his dominance by winning the UTR PTT Champaign on Oct. 10 over fellow Illini, junior Jeremy Zhang, in a three-set battle at the Atkins Tennis Center. Colleu avenged his previous outing at the Hope College RSM Invite, which saw him as the lone Illini to suffer a singles loss.
During the same time, senior Kenta Miyoshi competed in the ATP Solano Challenger in Fairfield, California, from Oct. 6-12. Miyoshi’s time at the Challenger was brief as he fell in the second round of qualifying.
Colleu, Zhang and freshman Adam Jilly all won their individual group sets. The trio’s singles play has been near perfection to start the season, going 8-1 during the Hope College RSM Invite and 3-0 in their groups at the UTR PTT.
The trio controlled their groups with authority. Each player didn’t just secure three wins out of three games in group play, but they won nearly every group game in only two sets.
Solano Challenger
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Miyoshi opened the Challenger in the first round of qualifying against Kody Pearson. He skated by Pearson, going 6-4, 6-0 in his first match of the event. Miyoshi moved on to face former Oregon Duck Quinn Vandecasteele in the second round of qualifying. Vandesteele had full control of the matchup, beating Miyoshi in two sets, going 6-2, 6-0.
Group play
Placed in Group A, Colleu went up against Rush Slivjanovski, Carson Dwyer and Ohio State redshirt sophomore JP Day. Colleu faced Dwyer first in the opening round of the tournament on Oct. 6. The back-and-forth match fell in Colleu’s hands as he secured the third set for his first victory, going 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 overall.
On Oct. 7, Colleu faced Day, securing a swift 6-2, 6-4 two-set victory. On the final day of group play, Colleu flexed his singles play, beating Slivjanovski 6-1 twice in two sets.
Jilly found himself placed in Group B with Zachary Cohen, Grand Canyon University sophomore Diordan Macababbad and Michigan State senior David Saye. Jilly’s first match came against Macababbad, where the freshman won after two 6-3 sets. His second match against Cohen was closer, with the freshman taking set one 6-4 and set two 7-5. In the final match of group play, Jilly defeated Saye in a swift 6-2, 6-3 win.
Finally, Zhang was placed into Group D, facing the likes of William Freshwater, Eli Dieveney and University of Illinois Chicago sophomore Eldin Nokic. Zhang faced Freshwater first, where the junior secured a strong 6-2, 6-1 victory. Zhang’s next matchup put him against Nokic, where he got a solid double 6-3 victory. Zhang closed out group play against Dieveney, going 7-5, 6-2 to go undefeated in group play.
Tournament playoffs
The first round of the UTR PTT Champaign Playoffs put Colleu against Evan Sharygin, the winner of Group C. Zhang and Jilly found themselves in a battle against each other.
Colleu batted with Sharygin in a tight, three-set match. Colleu grabbed the first set 6-4, followed by a triumphant Sharygin leveling the match after winning the second set 6-3. In the deciding match, Colleu stepped up and secured the 6-2 victory. Colleu advanced to play the winner of Zhang and Jilly.
Zhang found his footing against his fellow Illini teammate, putting up a quick two-set victory over Jilly. First, Zhang shut out Jilly, going 6-0 in the first set. Zhang closed the match by winning 6-4 on the second set. This pitted Colleu and Zhang in the second matchup of the playoffs between two Illini tennis players.
The finals matchup between Colleu and Zhang proved to be a tug of war. Colleu stepped up, taking the first set by going 6-4 over Zhang. However, Zhang fought back, getting a dominant 6-2 finish in the second set to level the score. Colleu cemented his win by going 6-2 in the third set over Zhang. This is the freshman’s first tournament victory as a member of the Illini.
Looking ahead
The next set of tournaments for the Illini will be in the ITF Midwest Regionals in Chicago from Oct. 16-21 and the ATP Challenger Tour in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from Oct. 19-26.
