Michigan
Illinois
Wolverines Lose Conference Match to No. 3 Fighting Illini
4/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 5, 2015
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #3 Illinois 4, Michigan 0
Records: U-M (3-14, 0-6 Big Ten), ILL (19-3, 7-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, April 8 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 4 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Seniors Alex Petrone and Michael Zhu earned an impressive win at the top of the doubles lineup, but the University of Michigan men's tennis team dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 3 Illinois on Sunday (April 5) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
The Wolverines pushed the Fighting Illini to the brink during doubles play, but Illinois gained momentum late and earned the initial point of the match by virtue of victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. In the first match off court, the veteran tandem of Petrone and Zhu earned their fifth victory of the season, and third against a ranked opponent, posting an 8-6 win over the 75th-ranked pairing of Tim Kopinski and Jared Hiltzik. However, the Fighting Illini, who entered the match undefeated in conference play, won the remaining two doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead.
First, the Illini pairing of Aron Hiltzik and Ross Guignon earned an 8-6 decision over redshirt freshman Alex Knight and freshman Runhao Hua at the No. 2 position.
Moments later, the duo of Farris Gosea and Aleks Vukic secured the initial point with an 8-5 triumph over the U-M tandem of sophomore Tyler Gardiner and redshirt freshman Davis Crocker at the No. 3 spot.
Illinois transferred the momentum over from doubles into singles and won consecutive matches in straight sets at the Nos. 6, 1 and 4 positions to clinch the match.
Knight led 44th-ranked Tim Kopinski, 6-4, 5-3, at No. 3 singles when all matches on court were abandoned once the Fighting Illini secured the dual-match victory.
U-M returns to action on Wednesday (April 8), traveling to East Lansing to take on in-state rival Michigan State. The midweek conference tilt is set to begin at 4 p.m. inside the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
The following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 22 Jared Hiltzik (Illinois) def. Michael Zhu (U-M), 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 -- No 64 Farris Gosea (Illinois) vs. Runhao Hua (U-M), 6-1, 5-2 DNF
No. 3 -- No. 44 Tim Kopinski (Illinois) vs. Alex Knight (U-M), 4-6, 3-5 DNF
No. 4 -- No. 52 Aaron Hiltzik (Illinois) def. Davis Crocker (U-M), 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 -- No. 50 Aleks Vukic (Illinois) vs. Carter Lin (U-M), 6-2, 5-3 DNF
No. 6 -- Blake Bazarnik (Illinois) def. Tyler Gardiner (U-M), 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- Alex Petrone/Michael Zhu (U-M) def. No. 75 Tim Kopinski/Jared Hiltzik (Illinois), 8-6
No. 2 -- Aron Hiltzik/Ross Guignon (Illinois) def. Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (U-M), 8-6
No. 3 -- Farris Gosea/Aleks Vukic (Illinois) def. Davis Crocker/Tyler Gardiner (U-M), 8-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 6-1-4
Communications Contact: Zach Eisendrath (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
