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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois begins the postseason on Thursday evening within the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, with the Fighting Illini set to tackle No. 6-seeded Wisconsin at 8 p.m. CT in Ojai, Calif.
Illinois, the No. 3 seed within the convention match, completed the common season with a 21-6 file and a 10-3 mark in Big Ten play.
The Illini defeated the Badgers by a 4-1 margin when the perimeters met in Madison, Wis., in March. Illinois took the doubles level earlier than tallying singles triumphs on Courts 1, 4, and 6.
Wisconsin heads to the West Coast with a 17-6 file and an 8-5 mark towards Big Ten opponents. The Badgers boast one ranked singles participant in senior Michael Minasyan at No. 63.
More info relating to the 2026 Big Ten Men’s Tennis Tournament will be discovered HERE.
Illinois closed out its 2026 common season with a dominant 4-0 win over in-state rival Northwestern. It was Senior Day for the Illini as Kenta Miyoshi, William Mroz, and Tyler Bowers had been acknowledged earlier than the match.
The Orange and Blue jumped out early, securing the doubles level with wins on courts 2 and three. David Bakonyi and Zach Viiala struck first on court docket 3 with a 6-1 victory over Cooper Han and Owen Megargee of Northwestern. Freshman duo Gabriel Debru and Sasha Colleu would shortly observe with a 6-3 win over Cyrus Mahjoob and Vincent Yang.
Momentum continued for the Illini in singles play, with the hosts choosing up wins on courts 3, 4, and 6. Freshman Adam Jilly made fast work of Northwestern’s Han with a 6-1, 6-0 victory on court docket 4. Bowers can be subsequent to complete with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Megargee on court docket 6.
Fittingly, it was senior William Mroz who took the Illini house on Senior Day, profitable 6-2, 6-2 over Chad Miller of Northwestern.
The Illini have 12 Big Ten Tournament titles in program historical past, most lately profitable the competitors in 2021. Under head coach Brad Dancer, Illinois has secured the title 3 times: 2012, 2015, and 2021.
The Orange and Blue’s 12 Big Ten Tournament championships are the third-most in convention historical past, behind solely Michigan (33) and Ohio State (17).
Under Dancer, the Illini are 33-16 on the convention match heading into their twentieth look beneath the 21-year head coach.
At the 2025 Big Ten Tournament, Illinois earned the No. 8 seed, defeating No. 9-seeded Oregon within the first spherical earlier than narrowly falling to host and top-seeded Ohio State, 4-3, within the quarterfinals. UCLA ultimately received the match title.
Team
Singles
Doubles
Fighting Illini freshman Gabriel Debru was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week by the convention workplace following his standout performances throughout Illinois’ street matches in Los Angeles.
Debru secured Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the second time this season.
Across the Illini’s matches at No. 24 UCLA and USC, Debru went 3-0, which included two ranked singles victories. He additionally now sits at a career-high No. 23 within the ITA singles rankings.
The Frenchman began the weekend with a straight-set singles victory over UCLA’s No. 24 Emon van Loben Sels, 7-6(4), 7-6(3), on Court 2. He adopted it up in the future later with one other ranked straight-set win, this time towards USC’s No. 64-ranked Nathan Trouve, 6-2, 7-5.
On the doubles courts, he teamed up with Tyler Bowers to take down UCLA’s Andy Nguyen/Aadarsh Tripathi, 6-3.
This marks the fifth Big Ten Freshman of the Week distinction for an Illini this season, with Debru and Adam Jilly each profitable twice and Sasha Colleu securing the standing on Jan. 21.
Fighting Illini freshman Adam Jilly was acknowledged by the convention workplace on Wednesday because the Big Ten Freshman of the Week following his standout performances on the singles courts over the weekend.
Jilly earned the convention’s freshman weekly honors for the third time this season after clinching Illinois’ street wins over Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Against the Cornhuskers on Friday, the Hungary native notched a straight-set determination over Niels Van Der Sijs to clinch the Illini’s 4-1 triumph.
Two days later, he offered the clinching win towards Wisconsin. Jilly’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 conquer Edouard Aubert at No. 4 singles prolonged his singles profitable streak to 5 matches and pushed the Illini’s profitable streak to 10.
Illinois redshirt sophomore Zach Viiala was acknowledged by the convention workplace on Wednesday because the Big Ten Player of the Week following his performances throughout the Fighting Illini’s wins over Northern Illinois, Oregon, and Washington.
Viiala earned convention weekly honors for the primary time in his profession, whereas this marks the third straight week that an Illini student-athlete has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week.
The Perth, Australia, native went 4-0 throughout singles and doubles play throughout the workforce’s three twin wins whereas remaining good on the singles courts this season.
On the doubles courts, Viiala started the weekend with a dramatic 7-6(6) win over Oregon’s Cameron Burton/Lachlan Robertson on Court 3 on Friday. Against Washington on Sunday, he secured a 6-3 triumph towards the Huskie duo of Stephane Kamendje and Rohan Belday.
In singles play, Viiala posted a 6-2, 6-0 determination towards Northern Illinois’ Chiao Bo Suo Nan on Court 4. He adopted it up with a 6-0, 6-0 conquer Oregon’s Cameron Burton.
Fighting Illini freshmen Gabriel Debru and Adam Jilly had been acknowledged by the convention workplace on March 4 with Big Ten weekly awards following their standout performances throughout Illinois’ wins over No. 6 TCU and No. 8 Baylor final week.
Debru was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the primary time in his profession, whereas Jilly was tabbed with Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the second time.
Debru went 4-0 throughout singles and doubles play throughout Illinois’ two top-10 wins. Recording three complete ranked victories over the course of the weekend, together with two over top-15 singles gamers, Debru moved as much as No. 26 within the ITA singles rankings. Jilly additionally put collectively an ideal weekend with two singles triumphs of his personal. He notched the fourth ranked determination of his collegiate profession throughout that stretch whereas climbing to No. 111 within the ITA singles rankings.
The Illini claimed the Big Ten Player of the Week award in consecutive weeks after William Mroz obtained that recognition on Feb. 25. This marks the third Big Ten Freshman of the Week distinction for an Illini this season, with Jilly profitable twice and Sasha Colleu securing the standing on Jan. 21.
Over the course of consecutive nights, Illinois defeated No. 8 Baylor (Feb. 27) and No. 6 TCU (Feb. 28) at Atkins Tennis Center.
The Illini took the doubles level in each matches, whereas Gabriel Debru logged top-15 singles victories on Court 1 towards each the Bears and the Horned Frogs. Kenta Miyoshi clinched the Friday evening triumph with a ranked win on Court 2, whereas Adam Jilly’s three-set determination on Court 4 closed out Saturday’s victory.
Against No. 8 Baylor, the Orange and Blue drew first blood with a 6-3 victory by Gabriel Debru and Tyler Bowers over Baylor’s Alexandru Chirita and Zsombor Velcz on Court 1. On Court 2, Kenta Miyoshi and William Mroz completed the job with a 6-4 victory over Luc Koenig and Connor Henry Van Schalkwyk.
Adam Jilly began the singles motion for Illinois with a 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 73 Alexandru Chirita of Baylor, marking his fourth ranked singles win of the season. Debru additionally snagged his third ranked triumph of the season with 6-4, 6-0 victory over No. 13 Devin Badenhorst.
Miyoshi would go the gap towards No. 39 Zsombor Velcz, outlasting the Hungarian in three units, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to safe a top-10 win for the Illini.
On Saturday towards No. 6 TCU, the Illini as soon as once more got here out robust in doubles play. Zach Viiala and Sasha Colleu had been the primary to complete, defeating TCU’s Maximus Dussault/Albert Pedrico on Court 3. Gabriel Debru and Tyler Bowers finally collected the doubles level with a ranked win on the highest doubles court docket over No. 56 Cooper Woestendick/Oliver Bonding.
After the Horned Frogs obtained on the board with a win at No. 5, senior William Mroz jump-started the Illini in singles play with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 28 Cooper Woestendick of TCU on Court 3.
TCU evened the competition at 2-2, however the Illini freshmen ended up taking this one house, first with Gabriel Debru on the highest singles court docket. The Frenchman notched his fourth ranked singles win of the season, defeating No. 9 Duncan Chan in straight units, 6-3, 6-4.
Adam Jilly then clinched the top-10 win for the Orange and Blue at No. 4 singles with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory over TCU’s Oliver Bonding, giving the Illini their second top-10 victory of the weekend.
Fighting Illini senior William Mroz was named the Big Ten Player of the Week following his standout performances towards North Carolina and UIC, the convention workplace introduced on Feb. 25.
Mroz went 3-0 in singles and doubles play throughout the 2 matches, together with a ranked win to clinch the Illini’s victory over the Tar Heels.
The Florida native started the weekend with a commanding 6-2 conquer UNC’s Anthony Wright and Roan Jones at No. 2 doubles. Facing his first ranked opponent of the season in singles play, Mroz posted a 6-4, 6-4 determination to defeat No. 87 Ian Mayew and clinch Illinois’ 4-1 win.
Later that day on Sunday, Mroz closed out his robust weekend with a 6-1 triumph towards UIC’s Henrique Sa/Eldin Nokic within the Illini’s 6-1 victory over the Flames.
Mroz earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the primary time in his profession, whereas he’s the primary Illini to attain that distinction this season.
The Fighting Illini introduced in 5 freshmen for the 2025-26 season: David Bakonyi, Sasha Colleu, Gabriel Debru, Adam Jilly, and Hayden Jones. Illinois’ 2025 recruiting class was ranked No. 2 within the nation by the Tennis Recruiting Network in May, although that rating got here previous to the high-profile signing of Debru in June.
One of the highest-rated gamers to ever compete collegiately, Debru hails from Grenoble, France, and holds career-high ATP rankings of No. 233 in singles and No. 273 in doubles. He has secured two singles titles in ATP Challenger Tour occasions, together with three singles titles on the ITF tour. He has additionally amassed one ATP Challenger title and two ITF titles in doubles play throughout his profession. Still solely 19 years previous, Debru has competed 3 times within the singles qualifying rounds at Roland-Garros, one of many 4 Grand Slam occasions on the ATP Tour. Prior to his shift into skilled tennis, Debru received the singles title on the 2022 Roland-Garros Junior Championships and shortly grew to become the top-ranked ITF junior participant on this planet in July 2022.
With a career-high ITF junior rating of No. 8, Jones holds career-best ATP rankings of No. 970 in singles and No. 602 in doubles. He has earned wild-card entries into singles qualifying for the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025 and was named the 2024 Australian Tennis Junior Male Athlete of the Year.
Colleu, a blue-chip recruit from Florida, was the Sixteenth-ranked American within the Tennis Recruiting Network’s Class of 2025 rankings. Colleu has received two junior doubles titles, securing match wins at J100 Quebec City in September and J100 Mexico City in October. With 5 singles titles on the ITF juniors circuit, Colleu most lately claimed the singles match win at J100 Delray Beach on April 26.
Bakonyi and Jilly had been a part of the Illini’s beforehand No. 9-ranked class in TRN’s winter recruiting rankings. Bakonyi has a career-high ITF junior rating of No. 182, together with three junior singles and 13 junior doubles titles. Jilly has a career-best ITF junior rating of No. 111, amassing 4 junior singles and 9 junior doubles titles. Having already performed collectively in doubles on the junior circuit, Bakonyi and Jilly have teamed up for eight junior doubles titles, together with three throughout the 2024 season.
Freshman Sasha Colleu was named the Big Ten Men’s Tennis Freshman of the Week following the Fighting Illini’s season opener on Jan. 16, the convention workplace introduced on Jan. 21.
Colleu earned the excellence after profitable each his singles and doubles matches in Illinois’ season-opening contest towards No. 7 Mississippi State at Atkins Tennis Center, throughout which Colleu made his twin debut.
The Miami native teamed up with fellow freshman Gabriel Debru to register a 6-0 victory over the Bulldogs’ Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano on Court 2, serving to the Orange and Blue declare the doubles level. In singles play, Colleu secured a straight-set victory over No. 34-ranked Bryan Hernandez Cortes. Breaking twice inside the first three video games, the freshman tallied a 6-3 determination within the opening body earlier than posting a bagel within the second set en path to his 6-3, 6-0 win.
Colleu’s recognition marked the primary Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors of his profession.
Fighting Illini senior William Mroz was named to the Big Ten’s Men’s Tennis Players to Watch checklist, the convention workplace introduced on Jan. 9.
He was certainly one of 14 Big Ten student-athletes to safe a spot on the Big Ten Men’s Tennis Players to Watch checklist. Mroz enters his remaining 12 months at Illinois throughout the 2026 twin season.
During the Illini’s 2024-25 marketing campaign, the Florida native secured All-Big Ten Second Team standing for the primary time in his profession, posting a 20-9 total mark and a 5-1 convention file on the singles courts. He additionally discovered success in doubles, ending the 12 months with a 17-9 tally total and a 7-2 file in doubles play within the Big Ten.
An Academic All-Big Ten honoree, he climbed as excessive as No. 30 within the ITA singles rankings, which got here within the remaining rankings of the autumn season. He finally closed the 2024-25 slate at No. 81.
Illinois senior Kenta Miyoshi secured ITA Singles All-America honors for the second consecutive season earlier than closing his time on the NCAA Singles Championship within the third spherical on Thursday.
The Japan native made his second straight look on the NCAA Singles Championship, ending with two ranked wins throughout his time on the USTA National Campus in Florida.
Miyoshi started his run with a straight-set win over UC Santa Barbara’s No. 96-ranked Dominique Rolland within the opening spherical of singles motion on Tuesday evening. He then defeated No. 16 Edward Winter of Pepperdine within the second spherical in straight units, serving to him safe ITA All-American standing and a spot within the third spherical for the second straight season.
His run finally got here to an in depth within the third spherical with a two-set defeat to #22-ranked Trevor Svajda of SMU.
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