Rankings predicted the day’s outcome, as the No. 15 Illinois men’s tennis team dropped to 7-5 on the season in a shutout against No. 1 Virginia.
“I think it was really simple,” Illini head coach Brad Dancer said. “Virginia was able to sustain a certain level of play and we weren’t. We would match them for a time period and then drop off, and that to me, across every court today, is what happened.”
Illinois got off to a rocky start in doubles, losing yet another point that put them at a 4-8 doubles record on the season. Senior Stephen Hoh and sophomore Farris Gosea were rolled by the competition on court three 8-1 while freshman-sophomore pair Jared Hiltzik and Alex Jesse fell 8-3 on the second court. Sophomores Ross Guignon and Tim Kopinski claimed the only win on the first court at 8-4.
In singles, Kopinski was the first to fall 6-3, 6-4, while Hiltzik kept his fight close in the first set (7-5) before falling apart in a 6-1 defeat in the second. The Cavaliers clinched the match with a win on the fourth court over senior Bruno Abdelnour.
Freshman Brian Page was the only Illini to win a set, winning his second 7-6 before dropping his third 6-1.
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“I think our team put them up on a pedestal before the match and that kind of hung around,” Hiltzik said. “They’re just tennis players, and we looked too much upon them.”
Abdelnour, who has been restricted in recent practices by a groin injury, said he still doesn’t feel 100 percent but currently is in rehab and hopes to be back to his old self by the season’s end.
Monday, Illinois will continue to face top-tier competition against No. 2 USC., looking to avenge last season’s 4-0 at the NCAA Championships.
“I think as a coaching staff, we have to do the same thing as we’re asking of our players,” Dancer said. “We have to coach and be aware at a high level, and then not get too emotionally involved where we just don’t sustain that level.”
Monday’s match against USC will mark the sixth time this season that Illinois has played two opponents in such a short window. Dancer said, in terms of endurance, he is sure his team will be ready to rise to the challenge.
“Those guys don’t intimidate us,” Hiltzik said of Virginia. “(Monday,) same thing. We’re not going to be intimidated. We’re just going to have a new mindset and stick to our own game.”
J.J. can be reached at [email protected] and @Wilsonable07.
