Friday, March 8
Champaign, Ill.
6 p.m.
Northwestern
0
at
4
Illinois
‘Cats Fall to No. 15 Illinois
3/9/2019 7:35:00 AM | Men's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Northwestern traveled to Champaign to face in-state rival Illinois on Friday evening. The Wildcats fought hard but fell to the No. 15 ranked Illini, 4-0.
The competition began as any rivalry should with three intense doubles matches. In the third spot, Trice Pickens and Antonioni Fasano were just edged out by Illini duo Vuk Budic and Gui Gomes, 7-6. No. 1 doubles team of Simen Bratholm and Nick Brookes got out to a great start, before falling to Alex Brown and Caleb Chakravarthi, 6-4.
The No. 2 doubles teams of Dominik Stary and Chris Ephron, were tied at six apiece with Illinois' Keenan Mayo and Aleks Kovacevic, but the match went unfinished as the Illini clinched the first point of the match.
In singles play, at No. 2 singles, Brookes competed against #33 ranked Alex Brown. The sophomore played two close sets before falling 6-4, 6-3, giving the Illini their second point on the day.
Ephron and Pickens both had a back-and-forth battles against Siphosothando Montsi and Noe Khlif of Illinois before dropping two sets, 6-3, 6-1 and 6-4, 6-4 respectively. This gave Illinois their third and fourth points and the victory.
Stary dropped his first set to #14 Aleks Kovacevic at No. 1 before taking the second set 7-6 to push their match-up to a third set. Stary led 1-0 but the match went unfinished.
The third court featured a matchup between Fasano and #113 Zeke Clark as their second set was tied at six (6-2, 6-6) but also went unfinished.
Chicago's Big Ten team will be back in action on Sunday, March 10, in a doubleheader against Texas Tech at noon and UIC at 5:30 p.m. Both matches will be at the Combe Tennis Center.
Due to construction on Lincoln St. , please use the alternate route which can be found here.
Illinois 4, Northwestern 0
Doubles
1. Alex Brown/Caleb Chakravarthi (UI) def. #32 Simen Bratholm/Nick Brookes (NU) 6-4
2. Keenan Mayo/Aleks Kovacevic (UI) vs. Chris Ephron/Dominik Stary (NU) 6-6 unfinished
3. Vuk Budic/Gui Gomes (UI) def. Trice Pickens/Antonioni Fasano (NU) 7-6 (7-1)
Order of finish: 1,3
Singles
1. #14 Aleks Kovacevic (UI) vs. Dominik Stary (NU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0, unfinished
2. #33 Alex Brown (UI) def. Nick Brookes (NU) 6-4, 6-3?3. #113 Zeke Clark (UI) vs. Antonioni Fasano (NU) 6-2, 6-6, unfinished?
4. Siphosothando Montsi (UI) def. Chris Ephron (NU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Caleb Chakravarthi (UI) vs. Simen Bratholm (NU) 6-7 (4-7), 3-4, unfinished
6. Noe Khlif (UI) def. Trice Pickens (NU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,4,6
The competition began as any rivalry should with three intense doubles matches. In the third spot, Trice Pickens and Antonioni Fasano were just edged out by Illini duo Vuk Budic and Gui Gomes, 7-6. No. 1 doubles team of Simen Bratholm and Nick Brookes got out to a great start, before falling to Alex Brown and Caleb Chakravarthi, 6-4.
The No. 2 doubles teams of Dominik Stary and Chris Ephron, were tied at six apiece with Illinois' Keenan Mayo and Aleks Kovacevic, but the match went unfinished as the Illini clinched the first point of the match.
In singles play, at No. 2 singles, Brookes competed against #33 ranked Alex Brown. The sophomore played two close sets before falling 6-4, 6-3, giving the Illini their second point on the day.
Ephron and Pickens both had a back-and-forth battles against Siphosothando Montsi and Noe Khlif of Illinois before dropping two sets, 6-3, 6-1 and 6-4, 6-4 respectively. This gave Illinois their third and fourth points and the victory.
Stary dropped his first set to #14 Aleks Kovacevic at No. 1 before taking the second set 7-6 to push their match-up to a third set. Stary led 1-0 but the match went unfinished.
The third court featured a matchup between Fasano and #113 Zeke Clark as their second set was tied at six (6-2, 6-6) but also went unfinished.
Chicago's Big Ten team will be back in action on Sunday, March 10, in a doubleheader against Texas Tech at noon and UIC at 5:30 p.m. Both matches will be at the Combe Tennis Center.
Due to construction on Lincoln St. , please use the alternate route which can be found here.
Illinois 4, Northwestern 0
Doubles
1. Alex Brown/Caleb Chakravarthi (UI) def. #32 Simen Bratholm/Nick Brookes (NU) 6-4
2. Keenan Mayo/Aleks Kovacevic (UI) vs. Chris Ephron/Dominik Stary (NU) 6-6 unfinished
3. Vuk Budic/Gui Gomes (UI) def. Trice Pickens/Antonioni Fasano (NU) 7-6 (7-1)
Order of finish: 1,3
Singles
1. #14 Aleks Kovacevic (UI) vs. Dominik Stary (NU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0, unfinished
2. #33 Alex Brown (UI) def. Nick Brookes (NU) 6-4, 6-3?3. #113 Zeke Clark (UI) vs. Antonioni Fasano (NU) 6-2, 6-6, unfinished?
4. Siphosothando Montsi (UI) def. Chris Ephron (NU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Caleb Chakravarthi (UI) vs. Simen Bratholm (NU) 6-7 (4-7), 3-4, unfinished
6. Noe Khlif (UI) def. Trice Pickens (NU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,4,6
Players Mentioned
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