| Matches 8+9: Illinois vs. North Carolina, UIC | |
|---|---|
| Match 8 | vs. North Carolina // Sunday, Feb. 22 // 12 p.m. CT |
| Match 9 | vs. UIC // Sunday, Feb. 22 // 5 p.m. CT |
| Location | Atkins Tennis Center // Urbana, Ill. |
| Links | Live Stats // Live Streams |
| Promotions (UNC match) | Fraternity Tailgate Raffle // Fraternity with highest numbrer of members in attendance across three matches (Feb. 22 vs. North Carolina, Feb. 27 vs. Baylor, and Feb. 28 vs. TCU) will win a “Bring Your Own Tailgate Spot” for the 2026 Football Home Opener, sponsored by RevelXP Brien’s Bistro free food voucher for limited number of fans |
| Illinois | Roster // Schedule |
| Shop | Fighting Illini Store |
| Social Media | X // Instagram // Facebook |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois returns to Atkins Tennis Center for a doubleheader on Sunday, when the Fighting Illini host North Carolina at 12 p.m. CT and UIC at 5 p.m. CT.
Sunday’s matchup gives the 4-3 Illini a chance to bounce back from their recent defeat at Notre Dame.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 25 Illinois has a chip on its shoulder after falling to Notre Dame, 4-1, on Feb. 14 in South Bend, Ind. The Irish triumphed after winning the doubles point followed by singles victories at the No. 2, 4, and 5 slots. Senior William Mroz claimed the lone point for the Illini in two sets. The defeat took the Orange and Blue to 4-3 on the season.
Prior to the loss, Illinois went on a four-match winning streak, including marquee wins over No. 23 Kentucky and No. 15 Duke
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA, UIC
North Carolina enters Sunday’s match with a 7-2 record in dual play, taking all seven of its victories in sweeping fashion. The Tar Heels enter the weekend on a four-match winning streak after besting UNC Ashville, UNC Greensboro, Campbell, and, most recently, NC Central. Their two losses came to Princeton and Vanderbilt. UNC has three singles players in the lineup.
Meanwhile, the UIC Flames are 4-2 in dual play, with the Flames set to take on Cleveland State on Thursday. The Flames make the trip to Urbana straight from Indianapolis after a Saturday morning showdown with IU Indy.
SERIES HISTORY
Illinois holds a dominant 9-0 lead over UIC in the all time series, not letting a single match fall to the Flames dating back to the first meeting in 1978. The most recent match between the schools occurred on March 5, 2022, when Illinois swept the match, 4-0.
On the other hand, North Carolina leads Illinois, 11-8, all-time in a hotly contested matchup history. However, the Illini have claimed the last three matches, the most recent in 4-2 fashion last February.
ITA RANKINGS ROUNDUP
Team
- No. 36: Illinois
Singles
- No. 22: Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois)
- No. 87: Ian Mayew (North Carolina)
- No. 113: Niels Ratiu (North Carolina)
- No. 115: Roan Jones (North Carolina)
Doubles
- No. 34: Kenta Miyoshi/Adam Jilly (Illinois)
ILLINOIS BRINGS IN FIVE FRESHMEN IN HIGHLY TOUTED 2025 RECRUITING CLASS
The Fighting Illini brought in five 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 in the nation by the Tennis Recruiting Network in May, though that ranking came prior to the high-profile signing of Debru in June.
One of the highest-rated players 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 events, along with three singles titles on the ITF tour. He has also amassed one ATP Challenger title and two ITF titles in doubles play during his career. Still only 19 years old, Debru has competed three times in the singles qualifying rounds at Roland-Garros, one of the four Grand Slam events on the ATP Tour. Prior to his shift into professional tennis, Debru won the singles title at the 2022 Roland-Garros Junior Championships and soon became the top-ranked ITF junior player in the world in July 2022.
With a career-high ITF junior ranking 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 16th-ranked American in the Tennis Recruiting Network’s Class of 2025 rankings. Colleu has won two junior doubles titles, securing tournament wins at J100 Quebec City in September and J100 Mexico City in October. With five singles titles on the ITF juniors circuit, Colleu most recently claimed the singles tournament win at J100 Delray Beach on April 26.
David Bakonyi and Adam Jilly were part of the Illini’s previously No. 9-ranked class in TRN’s winter recruiting rankings. Bakonyi has a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 182, along with three junior singles and 13 junior doubles titles. Jilly has a career-best ITF junior ranking of No. 111, amassing four junior singles and nine junior doubles titles. Having already played together in doubles on the junior circuit, Bakonyi and Jilly have teamed up for eight junior doubles titles, including three during the 2024 season.
COLLEU EARNS B1G FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS (JAN. 21)
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 conference office announced on Jan. 21.
Colleu earned the distinction after winning both his singles and doubles matches in Illinois’ season-opening contest against No. 7 Mississippi State at Atkins Tennis Center, during which Colleu made his dual 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, helping the Orange and Blue claim the doubles point. In singles play, Colleu secured a straight-set victory over No. 34-ranked Bryan Hernandez Cortes. Breaking twice within the first three games, the freshman tallied a 6-3 decision in the opening frame before posting a bagel in the second set en route to his 6-3, 6-0 win.
Colleu’s recognition marked the first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors of his career.
MROZ NAMED TO B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Fighting Illini senior William Mroz was named to the Big Ten’s Men’s Tennis Players to Watch list, the conference office announced on Jan. 9.
He was one of 14 Big Ten student-athletes to secure a spot on the Big Ten Men’s Tennis Players to Watch list. Mroz enters his final year at Illinois during the 2026 dual season.
During the Illini’s 2024-25 campaign, the Florida native secured All-Big Ten Second Team status for the first time in his career, posting a 20-9 overall mark and a 5-1 conference record on the singles courts. He also found success in doubles, finishing the year with a 17-9 tally overall and a 7-2 record in doubles play in the Big Ten.
An Academic All-Big Ten honoree, he climbed as high as No. 30 in the ITA singles rankings, which came in the final rankings of the fall season. He ultimately closed the 2024-25 slate at No. 81.
MIYOSHI SECURES ITA SINGLES ALL-AMERICA HONORS IN NOVEMBER
Illinois senior Kenta Miyoshi secured ITA Singles All-America honors for the second consecutive season before closing his time at the NCAA Singles Championship in the third round on Thursday.
The Japan native made his second straight appearance at the NCAA Singles Championship, finishing with two ranked wins during his time at the USTA National Campus in Florida.
Miyoshi began his run with a straight-set win over UC Santa Barbara’s No. 96-ranked Dominique Rolland in the opening round of singles action on Tuesday night. He then defeated No. 16 Edward Winter of Pepperdine in the second round in straight sets, helping him secure ITA All-American status and a spot in the third round for the second straight season.
His run ultimately came to a close in the third round with a two-set defeat to #22-ranked Trevor Svajda of SMU.