Chambana Sun

The Illinois men's tennis team, ranked No. 11, secured two victories during their road trip in Oklahoma on Thursday. The team first defeated Oral Roberts with a score of 4-0 and later overcame Tulsa with a 4-2 victory at the Greenwood Tennis Center.

These wins improved Illinois' season record to 9-4. Oral Roberts now holds a record of 4-8, while Tulsa stands at 6-11 overall.

"Tulsa made it really challenging for us," said head coach Brad Dancer. "A bunch of our guys did great, but the day goes to Lucas. He was steady as a rock, and I'm so thrilled he got that moment. He was a true leader for our team today."

In the match against Oral Roberts, Lucas Horve and Tyler Bowers started strong for Illinois in doubles with a 6-1 win over Aaron Brewer and Parv Nage. Alex Petrov and Karlis Ozolins clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 victory against Cayden Cheek and Ryan Holloway.

For singles matches, Jeremy Zhang quickly dispatched Cheek with scores of 6-1, 6-1. Bowers defeated Aaron Brewer by the same margin, and Kenta Miyoshi secured the match with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Eli Brewer.

The second match against Tulsa began with Kenta Miyoshi and Mathis Debru losing their doubles match to Victor Tosetto and Alex Okonkwo. However, Horve and Oliver Okonkwo turned it around with a win over Gus Tettamble and Callum Gale. Despite this effort, Tulsa claimed the doubles point after Pierce Rollins and Timothy Seger defeated Ozolins and Hunter Heck.

In singles play against Tulsa, Heck triumphed over Rollins with scores of 6-2, 6-2. Ozolins also won his match against Gale with identical set scores of 6-3. Following an Oliver Okonkwo loss, Horve beat Alex Okonkwo before Miyoshi clinched the overall victory for Illinois in three sets against Seger.

Illinois will conclude its time in Oklahoma with an upcoming match against Oklahoma State scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CT.