Nevolo notches Illinois’ only point in 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Ohio St.

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Illinois’ Marek Czerwinski returns a ball during doubles play against Ohio State at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex on Sunday, April 12, 2009 in Urbana. The No. 11 Illini fell to the No. 3 Buckeyes 6-1.

By John Lock

Same script, different day for the Illini men’s tennis team.

The No. 11 Illini (18-6, 7-1) couldn’t pull off the upset on Senior Day to beat No. 3 Ohio State (25-1, 8-0) in a battle for the conference lead. Ohio State’s win makes Illinois winless against the Buckeyes in the last two seasons. Ohio State now controls its own destiny in its quest for a fourth consecutive Big Ten crown.

The Illini knew going into the match they faced a tough battle. Ohio State featured five top-100 singles players, including two of the top 10. Upset bids from the Illini’s Roy Kalmanovich and Brian Livingston were denied in third-set super-tiebreakers. The only Illini point in the 6-1 loss came when No. 39 Dennis Nevolo upset No. 18 Justin Kronauge, 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (11-9).

“Singles was a hard-fought battle,” said Nevolo. “I played a hard first set, then let down a little in the second set. I ended up pulling it out. I hit some great shots, so it was great to clinch that.”

It could have been the last home match for seniors Marc Spicijaric and Brian Livingston, depending on whether Illinois gets home matches in the NCAA tournament.

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“Obviously today wasn’t the way we wanted it to go,” Spicijaric said. “But that doesn’t take away from what I’ve experienced in my four years here. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

Spicijaric’s freshman year was head coach Brad Dancer’s first as head coach, making Spicijaric the first player Dancer has seen through, start to finish, as a head coach.

“It’s mostly Marc’s day,” Dancer said. “He’s had a tremendous career here. People have seen him play a lot of big matches. He’s just a huge Illini guy through and through, and obviously he’s going to be a big part of our Illini family for many years to come.”

On Saturday, the Illini dispatched the No. 61 Penn State Nittany Lions with ease, 7-0. The Illini took the doubles point and rolled to four straight-set victories. All six Illini players won their first sets.

Saturday’s win was the Illini’s fifth consecutive victory and ninth consecutive home win, but the Illini knew the match was far from flawless.

“I think Marek (Czerwinski) and I played well in doubles from the start,” Spicijaric said. “That’s something we’ve been working on as a team. We could do a better job as a team to get off to that good start.”

After the Illini got off to that good start, they could do no wrong.

In four of the six singles matches, the Illini lost a total of five games and zero sets. Dancer said that kind of play has to become consistent.

“On four courts in singles, we played the way we are capable of from a concentration standpoint,” said Dancer. “But we need to work on getting that high concentration level set on every court.”