24th ranked Illini Men's Tennis Upended By Arizona State in NCAA 1st Round

From University of Illinois Sports Information Office:

May 5th, 2023

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 24 Fighting Illini men's tennis team fell to Arizona State (14-11), 4-3, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the Murr Athletics Center on Friday afternoon.

The Illini end the season with a 19-12 record.

"Thank you to Harvard for hosting a first class NCAA event," head coach Brad Dancer said. "Big credit to Arizona State. They had guys step up and play well in critical spots. Tim Kopinski and I felt like we could have gotten more out of this team and when you feel that way as a coach, you know you need to do a better job preparing the men. That will be our focus in the off-season and moving forward.  "

Doubles started off shaky with Oliver Okonkwo and Mathis Debru falling 6-0 to Murphy Cassone and Max McKennon.

Lucas Horve and Gabrielius Guzauskas turned it around, winning their match 7-5 over Nicola Cigna and Roi Ginat.

The Sun Devils clinched the doubles point, however, when Karlis Ozolins and Hunter Heck lost, 7-6 (5), to Jacob Bullard and Constantinos Koshis.

Heck made quick work with McKennon, finishing first with a 6-0, 6-1 score and evening up the match. Alex Petrov followed suit, taking his match, 6-1, 6-2 over Koshis.

Kenta Miyoshi took care of business on court six, beating Cigna, 6-2, 6-3. Ozolins then dropped his match to Cassone, 7-6 (3), 7-5.

Okonkwo dropped his match to Bullard 7-6 (5), 7-5, while William Mroz fell to Giant, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

Podcasts

IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular - $100 Million Donation, Illini Football Update & Canelo vs Crawford S5Ep5 - 9.12.25

Listen

Illinois Football Preview - Western Michigan - #501

Listen

Illini Destroy Duke 45-19 #500

Listen

Illini FB at Duke & Arch Panic - S5Ep4 - 9.5.25

Listen

Illini Football Preview versus Duke - #499

Listen

Illini Destroy Leathernecks 52-3 - #498

Listen

Illini FB is Here, So Is Petrovic & Illini in NFL - S5Ep3 - 8.29.25

Listen

I on the Illini - Western Illinois Preview #497

Listen

Illini FB & BB Updates & Phil Steele on the 2025 Illini FB Season - S5Ep2 - 8.22.25

Listen

1st Show of 5th Season, Illini FB Ranked #12 - S5Ep1 - 8.15.25

Listen

The Top 5 Illini Basketball Coaches in IlliniGuy Memory - #496

Listen

Greg Glass – NIL Primer & Can Fanstake.com Help Attract & Retain Athletic Talent - #495

Listen

Interviews with Bret Bielema, Cam Crocker & Matt Stevens - S4Ep52 - 8.8.25

Listen

Illini FB Coach Bret Bielema Chats with Mike & Rob Louthain Talks NIL & Illini Media - #494

Listen

IlliniGuys Top 5 Fighting Illini Cs in our Lifetime - #493

Listen