The No. 7 Illinois men’s tennis team started off its conference season in impressive fashion this weekend in Evanston, Ill. 

The Illini took down No. 23 Northwestern by a score of 4-1. The match started off with the Illini taking the doubles points, which has been a big problem for the team so far this season. 

Illinois won three of its last four doubles points, but coach Brad Dancer still thinks there’s a lot of room to improve. 

“If we’re going to win doubles points down the stretch, we’re going to have to play a lot better,” Dancer said. 

The Illini’s doubles troubles have made them depend heavily on singles, and the lineup didn’t disappoint Sunday. In singles, they got wins from Farris Gosea, Blake Bazarnik and Ross Guignon. No. 8 Jared Hiltzik was missing from the Illini lineup Sunday. 

The Illini were also missing sophomore Brian Page due to injury, which forced Gosea into the top singles slot. It also caused a few changes in the doubles pairings, as well. These changes didn’t seem to phase Illinois, though, as its three singles winners have been on a tear to start the season. Bazarnik, a transfer form Vanderbilt, has fit perfectly into the Illinois lineup. Gosea has moved all the way up to No. 23 in the country, and junior Ross Guignon has won six straight singles matches. 

“I feel like I’ve been making really good decisions as points are drawing to an end,” Guignon said. 

Guignon has also been a part of Illinois’ most consistent doubles pairing, as he and Tim Kopinski are the No. 4 team in the country. Dancer said the combo sets the tone for the Illini. 

“Ross and (Kopinski) were kind of their usual selves, they play with a certain standard they have for themselves,” Dancer said. 

The Illini’s top singles duo made easy work of the Wildcats’ top pair of Raleigh Smith and Mihir Kumar, who are ranked No. 21. The win marked the fourth win against a top-25 team in five total attempts for the duo. 

“I think we sense the court pretty well, and we’ve been serving pretty well as of late,” Kopinski said. 

Brett can be reached at [email protected] or @blerner10.