After losing to the top two teams to start the week, No. 19 Illinois men’s tennis rebounded with two wins in its doubleheader against Vincennes and Nebraska.

Illinois saw No. 1 Virginia at home last Sunday to start the week competition, in which the Cavaliers shut out the Illini 7-0.

“A big key of tennis, in general, is that you feel you can play free and focused at the same time,” head coach Brad Dancer said after Sunday’s defeat. “We did that at times, but we were not able to sustain through the course of the day, and that’s why Virginia beat us.”

No. 2 Southern California put similar top-ranked pressure on the Illini on Monday, defeating them 6-1 and sinking their record to 7-6 on the season. Sophomore Farris Gosea grabbed the only point for the Illini with a three-set win of 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.

These losses followed the pattern of the Illinois program, which has been unable to defeat a top-ranked team since 2007 when it beat then-No. 2 Ohio State in the Elite Eight of the NCAA championships. Dancer said he saw his team’s flaws and had to get them correct for conference play.

“It’s too much up and down, and not enough steady play (on our part),” Dancer said after Monday’s match. “If we’re going to make any run NCAA-wise, we’ve got to be able to play back-to-back matches.”

The Illini proved their endurance in Saturday’s doubleheader when they snatched wins against Vincennes and Nebraska.

Illinois competed under an experimental scoring format against Vincennes, which scored each game instead of match. The format didn’t change the outcome, however, as the Illini bested the Trailblazers, 54-12.

Doubles swept all three courts for the first time since the season opener against Toledo, in which the same experimental scoring format was used. The team’s momentum surged into singles play, where each match was won to award the Illini the maximum points possible in the match.

Illinois’ toughness carried into the second match against Nebraska, which ended in a 7-0 shutout and elevated the team’s conference record to 3-0. This marks the second time the Illini have shut out a Big Ten team this season.

“Nebraska is a very spirited team,” Dancer said. “Our guys showed a lot of determination and really stuck with their game plans. We are definitely pleased to win another Big Ten match.”

The remainder of the season consists of conference matches, with Wisconsin and Minnesota on the schedule this weekend. Dancer said his team’s strategy will not change.

“We look at it match by match,” Dancer said. “Obviously, it’s a goal of ours to do as good as we can each year in the Big Ten, but we always just look at it match by match.”

J.J. can be reached at [email protected] and @Wilsonable07.