The Fighting Illini tennis team is set for a challenging road trip to North Carolina, where they will face No. 7 Duke and the University of North Carolina (UNC). Illinois will play against Duke on Friday at 4 p.m. CT and UNC on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.
In their last outing, Illinois achieved its first dual win of the season by defeating Auburn 4-2 during the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee. Despite losing the doubles point, Illinois secured four singles victories to clinch the match.
Tyler Bowers initiated the comeback with a straight-set victory over Joey Phillips at No. 4 singles. Kenta Miyoshi and William Mroz followed with wins on the top two courts, while Zach Viiala sealed the victory with his first collegiate match-clinching win.
Duke enters this weekend ranked No. 7 in ITA rankings after sweeping Old Dominion and Vanderbilt during their ITA Kickoff Weekend regional matches. The Blue Devils have maintained a perfect record of 4-0 this season, including home victories over Harvard and NC Central.
The Duke roster includes three singles players ranked in the top 50: Sam Landau (No. 37), Pedro Rodenas (No. 38), and Cooper Williams (No. 47). In doubles, Williams teams up with Theo Winegar as the highest-ranked duo at No. 12 nationally.
North Carolina holds a current record of 2-1 overall and has won its only home match so far this season. After starting with a sweep against James Madison, UNC split matches during their ITA Kickoff Weekend appearance.
UNC's Patrick Schoen and Logan Zapp form their lone ranked doubles pair at No. 26, while Anthony Wright (No. 68), Chris Xu (No. 80), and Vladislav Melnic (No. 112) are ranked in singles.
Historically, Illinois leads its series against Duke with a record of 20-10 but trails North Carolina in their encounters with a record of 7-12.
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