No. 11 Illinois (12-3, 2-0) kept its eight-win streak rolling with wins on Friday against Northern Illinois (10-3, 1-0) and Oregon (10-3, 1-1), and ended the weekend tripleheader on Sunday with a win over Washington (6-8, 0-2).

The Illini kept things quick as they pushed past the NIU Huskies and Ducks, going 6-1 and 4-0, respectively. 

Illinois did not see another point, winning in a shutout 4-0 over the Washington Huskies.

Over the entirety of the team’s three-match slate, the Illini only gave up one point, going 14-1 over the weekend in singles and doubles competitions. This is the Illini’s best record during a three-game stretch so far this season.  

Illini keep tight leash on in-state Huskies

The Illini have continued to prove over the season their dominance against in-state teams. Before Northern Illinois made its way down to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois had two strong wins over UIC and Illinois State, 6-1 and 4-0, respectively. 

The Illini are 3-0 against teams in Illinois, with a combined points total of 16-2. 

Illinois waits to face its last in-state foe, Northwestern, for Senior Day on April 18.  

While the start of the season was marred by doubles trouble, those fears have quietly been put to rest. The Illini were able to capture their sixth straight doubles-point win.

The pairing of freshmen David Bakonyi and Adam Jilly proved formidable. The duo was matched for the first time since their unfinished outing against Illinois State. 

Any rust the pair had during their hiatus wore right off as the duo clinched their first victory on Court 2, going 6-3 over NIU senior Iker Gaztambide Arrastia and sophomore Nikola Puntaric.

Court 3 wasn’t too far behind as freshman Gabriel Debru and junior Jeremy Zhang captured the court 6-3 over Husky Senior Iker Dellien Valasco and sophomore Chiao Bo Suo Nan, sealing the Illini doubles win.

Singles continued to roll on, as every Illini winner secured a Court victory in two sets.

Jilly was the first victor, winning 6-2, 6-2 on Court 3 over Husky senior Federico Scotuzzi. This win puts Jilly into the hot spot, as the freshman secures three-straight singles victories.

Redshirt sophomore Zach Viiala kept the Illini pace going as he won Court 4 over Suo Nan, going 6-2, 6-0. With the win, Viiala goes 6-0 to open the season, having yet to see defeat on the singles Court.

Bakonyi saw victory again, also winning on Court 6 over Dellien Valasco, going 6-3, 6-1. 

However, the Illini push saw a bump in the road. No. 23-ranked senior Kenta Miyoshi saw defeat for the ninth time this season. Miyoshi fell to Gaztambide Arrastia in three sets, his second loss to an unranked player so far this year.

Despite this, freshman Hayden Jones and Zhang sealed the deal by winning Courts 2 and 5, respectively. 

The day was not over for Illinois as it faced Oregon just a couple of hours later.

Plucking feathers

The second match of the day and of the tripleheader opened the Illini’s Big Ten play for the season. The last regular-season meeting Illinois had against Oregon came in a 3-4 loss in Eugene, Oregon, on April 18, 2024. 

This match proved otherwise, as Illinois came out of the gate fast. 

Initially, the Ducks would be the first to grab victory. On Court 1 for doubles, Oregon seniors Matthew Burton and Pierre Mouesca defeated Debru and Redshirt Junior Tyler Bowers 7-6 (0).

However, Illinois responded with massive tiebreaker wins on Courts 2 and 3. Viiala and Bakonyi grabbed Court 3 first, defeating Duck freshman Cameron Burton and senior Lachlan Robertson in a 7-6 (6) tiebreaker. 

Seniors Miyoshi and William Mroz locked the point up with their 7-6 (2) tiebreaking win over Oregon senior Vlad Breazu and freshman Declan Galligan.

This doubles victory marks the seventh-straight for the Illini this season.

Without a stop, singles matches started right up and speed was the name of the game.

Viiala would be the first Illini to get a victory, as he defeated Burton on Court 6 with a double bagel (back-to-back 6-0’s). This is Viiala’s first double bagel in his collegiate career for the Illini.

Not too far behind, No. 70-ranked Mroz captured Court 3 with a two-set 6-4, 6-2 win over Oregon freshman Sam Olszakowski.

The icing on the cake came from No. 26-ranked Debru, as he secured his fourth-straight victory, winning over Mouesca in dual 6-4 sets.

Debru’s victory set the sweep for the Illini, which was the team’s first since they hosted Illinois State.

The Illini’s weekend was only getting started as the team readied up to face Washington in two days.

Handing the L to UW

After a day of recuperating and practice, the Illini were back at it against the Washington Huskies. 

In the opening doubles, it was beginning to look like the streak would continue. As Mroz and Jones combined to take down Washington freshman Daniel Bien and sophomore Nikola Plavsic 6-2 on Court 2. 

It looked like the Huskies couldn’t hold back the Illini, as Viiala and Colleu won swiftly, going 6-3 over Husky sophomores Stephane Kamendje and Rohan Belday.

For the ninth-straight competition, Illinois secured the doubles point yet again.

Like against Oregon, the singles competition ended almost as fast as it started.

Court 6 was the court of speed again, as Zhang captured the first victory in two sets, 6-2 and 6-3, over Bien. Zhang is on a hot streak, as the junior has won four matches in a row since first winning in the team’s match against UIC.

Mroz saw victory yet again, as the No. 70-ranked junior defeated Kamendje in a two-set win on Court 2, with dual 6-4’s.

 To ring the bell, Colleu ended the match after winning on Court 3 over Belday in two sets, going 7-5 and a swift 6-1.

Looking ahead

The Illini will play their first away matchup of the Big Ten season as they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-5, 0-2) on Friday.

[email protected]