Men’s tennis earns weekend split

Greg Zeck, Contributing Writer
February 7th, 2010 - 11:20 PM
February 7th, 2010 - 11:20 PM
Abe Souza, Blue Devils, Connor Roth, doubles, Duke, Johnny Hamui, Men's Tennis, Reid Carleton, Rhyne Williams, Split, Stephen Hoh, win
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An eighth straight win by junior Abe Souza was not enough for the No. 12 Illinois men’s tennis team (3-2) to top host No. 5 Tennessee (7-0) on Sunday in Knoxville, Tenn., as the Illini fell 6-1.

The match was the second of the weekend; the Illini beat No. 21 Duke (2-2) by a 5-2 score on Friday.

Tennessee dominated the day from start to finish. The Volunteers gained a quick lead after sweeping the doubles point and continued with No. 22 Rhyne Williams’ 6-0, 6-2 victory over junior Johnny Hamui.

Tennys Sandgren continued the trend, defeating senior Marek Czerwinski, 6-3, 6-4. No. 43 sophomore Dennis Nevolo battled No. 68 Boris Conkic but lost 6-3, 7-6, sealing a victory for the Volunteers.

The Illini picked up their lone point when Souza defeated Matteo Fago, 7-5, 6-4 to earn his eighth straight singles victory.

Junior Connor Roth then fell to Edward Jones, 6-4, 6-2, while freshman Stephen Hoh lost to Davey Sandgren.

On Friday the Illini got off to a quick start when they grabbed the doubles point once Souza and Roth defeated Alain Michel and Jared Pinsky in No. 3 doubles.

Duke quickly grabbed a point in No. 2 singles when Duke’s Reid Carleton defeated Hamui, but the Illini stormed right back, grabbing victories with Czerwinski and Souza.

Nevolo fell in No. 1 singles 6-4, 7-6 (2) to No. 17 Henrique Cunha to pull Duke within one.

The Illini were able to hold off the Blue Devils after Roth won 7-5, 7-5 over Luke Marchese and Hoh defeated No. 77 Torsten Wietoska, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5.

“Dennis battled back in the second set and I think that gave us a boost in confidence and when Stephen won the second set, I think that took some pressure off of Connor and allowed him more freedom in his match,” head coach Brad Dancer said in a press release.

“Overall, we played hard and purposeful, but we can always get better. We just need to keep believing in ourselves and in what we’re trying to do.”

The Illini will be back in action at the ITA National Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va., beginning Friday.

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