The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Illinois
No. 8 Men’s Tennis edged by No. 4 Illinois, 4-2
03.14.2015 | Men's Tennis
Longhorns continue dominance in top-tier singles, but fall to fourth-ranked Illini, 4-2.
Illinois (14-2) def. #10 TEXAS (12-2), 4-2
• Results
• Season Stats | PDF
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Men's Tennis remained unbeaten at No. 1 and No. 2 singles (28-0), but was edged by third-ranked Illinois in the team score, 4-2, on Saturday at Caswell Tennis Center.
The Longhorns' top-two singles positions are now a combined 28-0 during dual match play this season, led by two-time All-American and second-ranked Søren Hess-Olesen, who won his 16th consecutive match on Saturday.
Texas started doubles action with a rare win at the No. 3 position as juniors Nick Naumann and Michael Riechmann -- playing together for just the second time -- defeated Illinois' Aron Hiltzik and Ross Guignon, 6-4. It marked the fourth win at No. 3 doubles for the Longhorns this season.
The Fighting Illini proceeded to win the doubles point with victories at position numbers one and two. At one doubles, Glasspool and Hess-Olesen recovered from an early 4-1 deficit to tie the set, 5-5, before Jared Hiltzik and Tim Kopinski pulled away to clinch the doubles point with a 7-5 win.
Senior All-American Lloyd Glasspool improved to 9-0 at No. 2 singles this season with a straight set win over 32nd-ranked Tim Kopinski, 6-2, 6-4. Glasspool's ninth consecutive win tied the team tally, 1-1.
Illinois' 49th-ranked Aleks Vukic defeated sophomore George Goldhoff, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 4 singles to give the Illini a 2-1 lead.
Like clockwork, Hess-Olesen came through at No. 1 singles to knot the match, 2-2, with a straight set win over No. 18 Jared Hiltzik. The Denmark native improves to 14-0 in dual match play and 14-1 overall against ranked opponents this season.
After Illinois' 76th-ranked Aron Hiltzik defeated 60th-ranked Adrien Berkowicz, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 3 singles, the match came down to courts five and six with Illinois leading, 3-2.
Illinois forced a third set on courts five and six before Blake Bazarnik clinched the match with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, win over freshman John Mee. Junior Nick Naumann's match against Toshiki Matsuya was unfinished with a score of 7-5, 4-6, 3-1.
"I knew it would be a tough match today. Illinois has a very good team -- they compete well," Head Coach Michael Center said. "We are good too, but we have to make the plays at the right moment to be successful."
The Longhorns return to action against No. 10 Ohio State at Caswell Tennis Center on Tuesday (4 p.m. Central, Longhorn Network). Tuesday's contest will be UT's second consecutive top-10 matchup and the eighth top-25 matchup of the last nine matches.
Players Mentioned
