Chambana Sun

The University of Illinois men's tennis team, ranked 19th nationally, faced a narrow defeat against the 18th-ranked Michigan State at the Atkins Tennis Center on Saturday. The match concluded with a score of 4-3 in favor of Michigan State.

This result places Illinois at 10 wins and 7 losses for the season, with a Big Ten record of 1-2. Meanwhile, Michigan State improved their overall standing to 17-3 and maintained an unbeaten streak in conference play at 3-0.

"Congratulations to Michigan State," said Illinois head coach Brad Dancer. "They played a really tough match. I thought we put a lot of score-pressure on them early, but when they capitalized on the first set tiebreakers on courts three and five, it slowed our momentum."

Dancer emphasized the need for his team to engage in more matches that test their resilience and ability to find additional strength during critical moments. "There is always something left and we have to find that gear," he added.

In doubles play, Hunter Heck and William Mroz secured a victory over Michigan State's Ronnie Hohmann and Sebastien Collard with a score of 6-4. Mathis Debru and Kenta Miyoshi also won their doubles match against Aristotelis Thanos and Graydon Lair by the same margin.

Heck continued his strong performance in singles by defeating Hohmann again with scores of 6-4, 7-5. Miyoshi followed suit by winning against Collard in three sets: 6-3, 0-6, 6-0. These victories initially put Illinois ahead with a lead of three matches to none.

However, Michigan State mounted a comeback with Ozan Baris clinching the decisive point after defeating Karlis Ozolins in three sets: 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Illinois will continue its Big Ten schedule tomorrow as they face off against Michigan at noon Central Time at Atkins Tennis Center.