Chambana Sun

No. 15 Illinois men's tennis team is set to open their Big Ten competition with matches against Penn State and Ohio State. The Fighting Illini will face Penn State on Friday, March 22, at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center in University Park, Pennsylvania. They will then travel to Columbus, Ohio, to compete against No. 1 Ohio State on Sunday, March 24.

Historically, Illinois has dominated Penn State with a record of 37-5. The Illini secured consecutive 4-0 victories over the Nittany Lions in both 2022 and 2023. Their last defeat against Penn State was in 2016 when they lost narrowly by 4-3.

The rivalry between Illinois and Ohio State dates back more than a century to May 17, 1920. Over this period, Illinois holds a slight edge with a record of 61-57-1 against the Buckeyes. However, in recent encounters over the past five seasons, Illinois has only managed one victory out of eleven matches against Ohio State. This sole win was achieved during the championship match of the Big Ten Tournament in 2021.

In their most recent meeting on March 6 for an annual non-conference match-up, Ohio State defeated Illinois with a scoreline of 4-1.

Currently struggling through an eight-match losing streak since February 4, Penn State's last victory was a narrow win over Mount St. Mary's by a score of 4-3 at home.

Meanwhile, after their earlier encounter with Illinois this month, Ohio State suffered its first loss of the season on March 10 against No.8 Texas with a final score of 5-2. The Buckeyes are scheduled to start their Big Ten play facing Northwestern on Friday evening before taking on Illinois.