Half of the Big Ten men’s tennis season has concluded, and 9 of 12 teams are left with at or above .500 standing. Inside the Big Ten, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 19 Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota sit at the top with no more than one conference loss apiece. But upcoming matches between these teams could cause a conference shakeup. The Illini face Michigan and Michigan State this weekend while Minnesota will travel to face Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
(Editors note: Rankings for quality wins reflect rank at the time of the match)
Illinois vs. Michigan
Illinois
Jared Hiltzik — Freshman
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National rank — 42
Overall Record — 21-8
Conference record — 4-1
Quality wins — No. 23 Fred Saba, Duke; No. 15 Tom Jomby, Kentucky
Streak — L1
Hiltzik’s last loss was his first of the conference season, but he has turned in some crucial wins this season, including a game winner over Saba showing his composure under pressure.
Michigan
Evan King — Senior
National rank — 15
Overall Record — 19-4
Conference record — 3-0
Quality wins — No. 2 Matija Pecotic, Princeton; No. 7 Sebastian Fanselow, Pepperdine
Streak — W4
King’s only spring loss was taken to a third set. Don’t let his 3-0 record take away from his experience, as King has three years of Big Ten conference play under his belt.
Ohio State
Peter Kobelt — Junior
National rank — 4
Overall Record — 27-5
Conference record — 4-0
Quality wins — None
Streak — W7
Kobelt’s high ranking and conference record is slightly deceptive. In his six ranked competitions, he has lost or left unfinished each match against opponents ranked above No. 100.
Minnesota
Rok Bonin —Senior
National rank — 41
Overall Record — 19-9
Conference record — 4-1
Quality wins — No. 45 Max Wennakoski, Virginia Commonwealth; No. 49 Anis Ghorbel, Drake
Streak — W2
Bonin has dropped both matches against top-25 opponents, and has yet to face an opponent ranked above him this season. Bonin and the Gophers take on Penn State and Ohio State this weekend.
Illinois
Illinois
Tim Kopinski/Ross Guignon — Sophomore/sophomore
National rank — 22
Overall Record — 7-2
Conference record — 2-1
Quality wins — No. 2 Jarmere Jenkins/Mac Styslinger, Virginia; No. 35 Tom Jomby/Kevin Lai, Kentucky
Streak — L1
The sophomore tandem of Kopinski and Guignon had its seven-match win streak snapped last week against Wisconsin, but managed a strong victory over the No. 2 duo from Virginia.
Michigan
Evan King/Alex Buzzi — Senior/junior
National rank — unranked
Overall Record — 6-1
Conference record — 3-0
Quality wins — None
Streak — W4
King and Buzi are finding a rhythm with a perfect conference record.
Ohio State
Peter Kobelt/Connor Smith — Junior/senior
National rank — 13
Overall Record — 14-2
Conference record — 5-0
Quality wins — No. 5 Hernus Pieters/Ben Wagland, Georgia; No. 14 Chris Konigsfeldt/Campbell Johnson, California
Streak — W9
Kobelt and Smith won’t have much trouble in doubles, regardless of what pair they face.
Minnesota
Eric Frueh/Leandro Toledo — Sophomore/sophomore
National rank — unranked
Overall Record — 6-2
Conference record — 5-0
Quality wins — None
Streak — W4
Minnesota hasn’t shown much fight when it comes to their doubles game this season, though Frueh and Toledo have been flawless in conference play and are coming off a team victory against Illinois.
J.J. can be reached at [email protected] and @Wilsonable07
