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

Oct 11 Weekend - Hour 2 - S4Ep9

Listen

Oct 11 Weekend - Hour 1 - S4Ep9

Listen

Brad Sturdy Interviews Brad Underwood, Ty Rodgers and Kylan Boswell #409

Listen

Illini Basketball Update with Kedric Prince #408

Listen

Purdue Boilermakers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Football Preview - Rob Blackman - #407

Listen

Heat Checks & Hail Marys – Alabama's Coaching Choice and the Benefits of Realignment

Listen

Oct 4 Weekend - Hour 2 - S4Ep8

Listen

Oct 4 Weekend - Hour 1 - S4Ep8

Listen

Chris Willis of NFL Films Author of Red Grange: The Life & Legacy of the NFL's First Superstar #406

Listen

Penn State Defeats Fighting Illini 21-7 Post Game Analysis - #405

Listen

Heat Checks & Hail Marys - Illini vs Penn State, B1G Football Team Tiers & Is Curt Cignetti Too Good for Indiana's Good?

Listen

Penn State Defeats Fighting Illini 21-7 - Instant Take #404

Listen

Sept 27 Weekend - Hour 2 - S4 Ep 7

Listen

Sept 27 Weekend - Hour 1 - S4 Ep 7

Listen

Penn State Nittany Lions vs Illinois Fighting Illini Football Preview - #403

Listen