NU Falls to Illinois in Big Ten Opener, 5-2

2/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Results

Feb. 20, 2015


	#6 Illinois 5, #26 Northwestern 2 Atkins Tennis Center • Urbana, Ill. Results

URBANA, Ill. -- In a Friday night showdown, No. 26 Northwestern opened Big Ten play at No. 6 Illinois on the road. Though the `Cats took an early lead with the doubles point, the Illini resurged in singles to win 5-2.

In doubles competition, Alp Horoz and Mihir Kumar started with an 8-3 victory over Blake Bazarnik and Brian Page at No. 3. The result marks the pair's fifth straight doubles win and puts them at 6-1 on the season.

The 11th-ranked Illini duo of Ross Guignon and Tim Kopinski then bested Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer by the same score at No. 1, but Sam Shropshire and Alex Pasareanu triumphed 8-5 at No. 2 to tally the first point for the `Cats.

The Illini bounced back in singles at No. 5, where Toshiki Matsuya topped Baev 6-2, 6-1. Undaunted, Horoz put NU up again with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Guignon at No. 6.

However, four ranked Illini players on the upper courts then sealed it for the home team. No. 69 Aron Hiltzik beat Logan Staggs 6-4, 6-3 at No. 3, and 37th-ranked Tim Kopinski defeated No. 64 Kirchheimer 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2.

No. 46 Aleks Vukic locked the Illinois win at No. 4, overcoming Kumar 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. No. 23 Jared Hiltzik finished the evening at No. 1 with a competitive 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 victory over No. 96 Shropshire.

Now 6-5 on the season, Northwestern continues its weekend on Sunday with a 10 a.m. match at Cornell.

#6 Illinois 5, 26 Northwestern 2
Doubles Results
1. #11 Ross Guignon/Tim Kopinski (ILL) def. Fedor Baev/Strong Kirchheimer (NU) 8-3
2. Alex Pasareanu/Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Farris Gosea/Jared Hiltzik (ILL) 8-5
3. Mihir Kumar/Alp Horoz (NU) def. Blake Bazarnik/Brian Page (ILL) 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*

Singles Results
1. #23 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. #96 Sam Shropshire (NU) 6-2, 1-6, 7-5
2. #37 Tim Kopinski (ILL) def. #64 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) 6-1, 6-3
3. #69 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. Logan Staggs (NU) 6-4, 6-3
4. #46 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. Mihir Kumar (NU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
5. Toshiki Matsuya (ILL) def. Fedor Baev (NU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Alp Horoz (NU) def. Ross Guignon (ILL) 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 5, 6, 3, 2, 4*, 1

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!