Chambana Sun

Illinois redshirt junior William Mroz is set to compete in the ITA Central Sectional Championship from November 7-10. This tournament, hosted at TCU's Bartzen Varsity Courts in Fort Worth, Texas, serves as the final NCAA-qualifying event of the year.

Mroz will begin his singles competition with a first-round match against Michigan State's No. 4-seeded Aristotelis Thanos on Thursday at 11 a.m. CT. The two players have faced each other once before this fall, with Mroz securing a victory in a closely contested three-set match on October 13.

This event marks Mroz's third tournament appearance for the fall season of 2024. In mid-October, he participated in the ITA Midwest Regional where he reached the singles main draw semifinals but fell short of an automatic bid to the NCAA Singles Championship. So far this fall, Mroz has achieved an 8-2 record in singles play, including victories over two ranked opponents.

The ITA Central Sectional will see six student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship: four semifinalists and two quarterfinal playoff winners will earn spots. Notably, this year marks a change as the NCAA Individual Championships have moved from spring to fall and are scheduled for November 19-24 in Waco, Texas.

Mroz aims to become Illinois' second men's tennis player to advance to the NCAA Singles Championship following Kenta Miyoshi's success earlier this season at the ITA Midwest Regional.

The tournament features participation from various universities including Baylor, Memphis, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma State among others. A total of 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams will compete over four days.

Details regarding draws and order of play for the ITA Central Sectional can be accessed online.