Chambana Sun

The Illinois Fighting Illini suffered a 4-1 defeat against the Ohio State Buckeyes in their penultimate home match at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex. This match marked Illinois' debut on the outdoor courts this season. Following this encounter, Illinois' record stands at 12-9 overall and 5-5 in conference games. Ohio State maintained its unblemished record in Big Ten play, advancing to 21-2 overall.

The Buckeyes secured an initial lead by capturing the doubles point with victories on Nos. 1 and 3 courts. On the singles side, Ohio State furthered its lead with a win on Court 6. Illinois responded on the top singles court, where Kenta Miyoshi earned a straight-set victory over Aidan Kim. This win marked Miyoshi's highest-ranked triumph in dual play.

The Buckeyes clinched the overall match by winning singles matches on Courts 3 and 5. Meanwhile, matches on Courts 2 and 4 remained unfinished. On Court 2, Illinois’ Tyler Bowers engaged in a closely contested match against Ohio State's Alexander Bernard. Bowers won the first set, but the match concluded without finishing the second set. On Court 4, Zach Viiala faced Buckeyes' Will Jansen, although the match also ended unfinished after a tiebreaker in the second set.

Illinois will next face Penn State at home for their final regular-season match on Saturday. Promotions for the event include free KAMS wristbands for the first 150 fans and a wine pull courtesy of Art Mart.