Nebraska Falls to No. 26 Illinois, 4-2

Urbana, Ill. – The No. 45 Nebraska men’s tennis team (12-9, 4-4 Big Ten) fell to No. 26 Illinois (17-9, 5-2 Big Ten) 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Atkins Tennis Center.
 
Illinois started strong in doubles to jump out to an early 1-0 lead. On Court 1, the No. 50 ranked pairing of Karlis Ozolins and Hunter Heck defeated William Gleason and Leo Linquet 6-2. The Fighting Illini picked up the doubles point on Court 3 as Gabrielius Guzauskas and William Mroz defeated Roni Hietaranta and Shunya Maruyama 6-1.
 
The match on Court 3 went unfinished, with Calvin Mueller and Lars Johann tied at 3-3 with No. 52 Mathis Debru and Oliver Okonkwo.
 
Illinois grabbed the first singles match, as No. 46 Ozolins defeated Hietaranta 6-1, 6-1 on Court 1. The Huskers cut the lead in half as Johann defeated Mroz 6-4, 6-3 on Court 4. The Fighting Illini answered right back as No. 88 Alex Petrov defeated Maruyama 6-4, 6-3 on Court 3. Linquet kept the Huskers within striking distance as he defeated Heck 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 on Court 2 to make it 3-2.

The Huskers came up just short on Court 5, as Okonkwo defeated Gleason 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to clinch the win for Illinois.

The remaining match on Court 6 went unfinished, with Nic Wiedenhorn trailing Nic Meister 3-6, 7-6 (4), 1-4.

 

The Huskers close out its regular season schedule as they travel to Madison, Wisc., to face No. 51 Wisconsin next Saturday at 12 p.m. CT.

Tennis Match Results

Nebraska vs Illinois

4/16/2023 at Champaign-Urbana, Ill. (Atkins Tennic Center)

Illinois 4, Nebraska 2

Singles competition

1. #46 Karlis Ozolins (ILL) def. Roni Hietaranta (NEB) 6-1, 6-1

2. Leo Linquet (NEB) def. Hunter Heck (ILL) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3

3. #88 Alex Petrov (ILL) def. Shunya Maruyama (NEB) 6-4, 6-3

4. Lars Johann (NEB) def. William Mroz (ILL) 6-4, 6-3

5. Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) def. William Gleason (NEB) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2

6. Nic Meister (ILL) vs. Nic Wiedenhorn (NEB) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 4-1, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. #50 Hunter Heck/Karlis Ozolins (ILL) def. William Gleason/Linquet (NEB) 6-2

2. #52 Oliver Okonkwo/Mathis Debru (ILL) vs. Calvin Mueller/Lars Johann (NEB) 3-3, unfinished

3. Gabrielius Guzauskas/William Mroz (ILL) def. Roni Hietaranta/Shunya Maruyama (NEB) 6-1

Match Notes:

Nebraska 12-9

Illinois 17-9

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,4,3,2,5)