CHICAGO, Ill. – Illinois men’s tennis defeated No. 9 Wake Forest, 4-1, with a Hunter Heck clinch on court three in front of cheering Illini fans.
“This is why we host this event,” head coach Brad Dancer said, “to attract the masses of fans like this and have that crowd out here tonight, making it a special environment for our guys. This was a great effort from our guys – they’re concentrating better, they’re focusing better, they’re getting tougher, they’re becoming more resilient, they’re starting matches better. We talk about the newness of this team and they are cutting their teeth. It’s fun to watch these guys grow up and I can’t wait for the people in Champaign to see this team, because we’re growing and this is a really fun team to watch.”
Mathis Debru and Oliver Okonkwo got their first win on the weekend to kick off doubles – a 6-4 victory over Juan Lopez de Azcona and Flippo Moroni. Gabrielius Guzauskas and Kenta Miyoshi lost their match, 6-4, to Melios Efsatathiou and Matthew Thomson.
Heck and doubles partner Karlis Ozolins finished the job as they clinched the doubles point with a 7-5 win over Luciano Tacchi and Jurabek Karimov.
Singles started and ended quickly for Ozolins,who beat Moroni with a swift 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Chicago native Nic Meister continued the win streak with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Bozo Barun. Alex Petrov then lost his match to Melios Efsatathiou, 6-1, 6-2.
Heck responded quickly and gave the final blow with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Luciano Tacchi to clinch the match for the Illini.
“Everyone knows I’m tough on Hunter,” Dancer said. “I think Hunter is capable of so much more than we sometimes get, but I also want to recognize when he’s tough. Tonight in doubles, he was the guy who got that last game done – he won all four points on the return serve. Looking at the singles and the level of the guy he was playing down the stretch was just incredible. Hunter just withstood that numerous times. It was just a gutsy and gritty effort from Hunter.”
The Illini will continue in the tournament against No. 12 Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday in Chicago, Ill. at the XS Tennis Center.
Results
Singles competition
1. Melios Efsatathiou (WF) def. Alex Petrov (ILL) 6-1, 6-2
2. Karlis Ozolins (ILL) def. Flippo Moroni (WF) 6-3, 6-2
3. Hunter Heck (ILL) def. Luciano Tacchi (WF) 6-3, 6-4
4. William Mroz (ILL) vs. Jurabek Karimov (WF) 6-2, 5-5, unfinished
5. Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) vs. Matthew Thomson (WF) 5-7, 6-4, unfinished
6. Nic Meister (ILL) def. Bozo Barun (WF) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Mathis Debru/Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) def. Juan Lopez de Azcona/Flippo Moroni (WF) 6-4
2. Hunter Heck/Karlis Ozolins (ILL) def. Luciano Tacchi/Jurabek Karimov (WF) 7-5
3. Melios Efsatathiou/Matthew Thomson (WF) def. Gabrielius Guzauskas/Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) 6-4
Leave A Comment