Huskers Fall to Illinois in B1G Quarters

Bloomington, Ind. – The No. 5 seed Nebraska men’s tennis team dropped its quarterfinal match to No. 4 seed Illinois 4-2 on Friday afternoon at the 2023 Big Ten Tournament. 

 

The Huskers (13-10, 5-4 Big Ten) came out fast in doubles action to jump out to an early 1-0 lead. William Gleason and Leo Linquet picked up a 6-3 upset win over the No. 65 ranked duo of Mathis Debru and Oliver Okonkwo on Court 1. Illinois’ (19-10, 6-3 Big Ten) William Mroz and Hunter Heck struck back with a 6-3 win on Court 3 over Lars Johann and Calvin Mueller.

 

Nebraska clinched the doubles point on Court 2 as Nic Wiedenhorn and Shunya Maruyama defeated Lucas Horve and Gabrielius Guzauskas 6-4.

 

Illinois found its grove in singles play as Heck defeated Linquet 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1 to tie the match, before Mroz grabbed the 2-1 lead for Illinois with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Mueller on Court 4. The Fighting Illini widened their lead to 3-1 thanks to a 6-1, 6-4 by Alex Petrov over Maruyama on Court 2.

 

Down by two, the Huskers fought back by forcing the three remaining matches into a third set. Wiedenhorn defeated Nic Meister 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 to make it 3-2 overall.

 

Despite NU fighting back, Illinois pulled out the match win on Court 5 as Kenta Miyoshi defeated Gleason 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

 

The final match went unfinished with Johann leading Okonkwo 7-5, 2-6, 4-3.

 

The Huskers will learn their NCAA Tournament fate on Monday night during the selection show at 5:30 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.

Tennis Match Results

Nebraska vs Illinois

Apr 28, 2023 at Bloomington, Ind. (IU Tennis Center)

Illinois 4, Nebraska 2

Singles competition

1. Hunter Heck (ILL) def. Leo Linquet (NEB) 6-2, 6-2

2. Alex Petrov (ILL) def. Shunya Maruyama (NEB) 6-1, 6-4

3. Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) vs. Lars Johann (NEB) 5-7, 6-2, 3-4, unfinished

4. William Mroz (ILL) def. Calvin Mueller (NEB) 6-2, 6-2

5. Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) def. William Gleason (NEB) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3

6. Nic Wiedenhorn (NEB) def. Nic Meister (ILL) 6-2, 3-6, 6-0

Doubles competition

1. Leo Linquet/William Gleason (NEB) def. Oliver Okonkwo/Mathis Debru (ILL) 6-3

2. Nic Wiedenhorn/Shunya Maruyama (NEB) def. Lucas Horve/Gabrielius Guzauskas (ILL) 6-4

3. Hunter Heck/William Mroz (ILL) def. Lars Johann/Calvin Mueller (NEB) 6-3

Match Notes:

Nebraska 13-10

Illinois 19-10

Order of Finish:

Singles: 1, 4, 2, 6, 5, unfinished Doubles: 1, 3, 2