In its opening homestand, the No. 22 Illinois men’s tennis team challenged its own ranking when it seized wins over No. 16 Notre Dame, No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 10 Texas.

Following their first two losses on the road against Duke and North Carolina last weekend, the Illini fell three spots in the national rankings heading into the match against the Irish on Wednesday. While the Illini dropped the doubles points, they responded by taking five of six courts in singles to win 5-2. Sophomore Jared Hiltzik, ranked No. 4 nationally in singles, got the ball rolling when he downed No. 22 Greg Andrews in straight sets, 6-5(1), 6-2. Straight-set victories by juniors No. 46 Tim Kopinski, No. 106 Farris Gosea and Ross Guignon added another three points for the Illini while junior Blake Bazarnik’s win in a three-set tiebreaker rounded out their score at five.

Two nights later, the Illini welcomed a much greater challenge in an undefeated Texas A&M team. The Illini, again, lost the doubles points when the No. 6 Aggies duo of Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow topped No. 4 Guignon and Kopinski in a deciding match on court one. It wouldn’t matter for the Aggies, though, as singles play would see all three of the Illini’s ranked players — Hiltzik, Kopinski and Gosea — win in straight sets over their respective ranked opponents. A win by Bazarnik, this time in straight sets, would seal the deal and win Illinois the match, 4-1.

Sunday afternoon would be the closest of three matches for Illinois when they narrowly escaped with a victory over Texas, 4-3. For the sixth match in a row, the Illini surrendered an early lead by dropping two of three courts in doubles. While Guignon and Kopinski rebounded strong from their last match, winning 6-1, pairs Hilzik and Gosea and Alex Jesse and Brian Page couldn’t hang on against the Longhorns.

In singles, Gosea and Hiltzik knocked off ranked opponents to give the Illini a 2-1 lead, but losses by freshman Julian Childers and Page gave the advantage back to the Longhorns. Not long after, Kopinski evened the match score at 3-3 with a three-set win over No. 24 Gold Goldhoff, 5-6, 6-2, 6-5. In the end, it was Guignon who saved the day by scoring Illinois its final point and finishing strong with a three-set victory, 6-5, 5-6, 6-3.

The Illini, who are now at 5-2, will have a monthlong break before their next dual match, taking time off for the National Indoor Championships next weekend.

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