University of Minnesota Athletics
Arndt Posts Lone Win in Gophers' Loss to Illinois
4/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Phillip Arndt posted Minnesota's lone victory, but 13th-ranked Illinois won three tight matches to pull out a 6-1 victory over the Gophers on Saturday in Champaign, Ill.
Arndt was a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 winner over Connor Roth at No. 5 singles for the 39th-ranked Gophers, who fell to 9-8 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten. Illinois improved to 13-8 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten.
Illinois squeaked out the doubles point when Roth and Stephen Hoh downed Tobias Wernet and Rok Bonin 7-1 in a decisive tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles. The Gophers also won a tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles as Dino Bilankov and Julian Dehn beat 60th-ranked Dennis Nevolo and Johnny Hamui.
The Illini's Abe Souza and Marek Czerwinski defeated Minnesota's 27th-ranked doubles tandem of Sebastian Gallego and Arndt 8-5 at No. 1.
Nevolo, ranked 35th in the country, beat Gallego 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 and the Illini took a 3-0 lead when 85th-ranked Souza downed Bonin 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3. Illinois clinched the match when Hamui defeated Bilankov 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4.
Illinois took two other matches that went three sets. Stephen Hoh rallied past Brendan Ruddock 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6 and 57th-ranked Marek Czerwinski bounced back from a first-set blanking by Wernet to win 0-6, 7-6, 6-2.
The Gophers look to rebound when they play at Indiana on Sunday at 1 p.m.
#13 Illinois 6, #39 Minnesota 1
Singles
1. #35 Dennis Nevolo (ILL) def. #66 Sebastian Gallego (MINN) 6-2, 6-2
2. #57 Marek Czerwinski (ILL) def. #105 Tobias Wernet (MINN) 0-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
3. #85 Abe Souza (ILL) def. Rok Bonin (MINN) 6-2, 6-1
4. Johnny Hamui (ILL) def. Dino Bilankov (MINN) 6-3, 6-1
5. Phillip Arndt (MINN) def. Connor Roth (ILL) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
6. Stephen Hoh (ILL) def. Brendan Ruddock (MINN) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
1. Abe Souza/Marek Czerwinski (ILL) def. #27 Sebastian Gallego/Phillip Arndt (MINN) 8-5
2. Connor Roth/Stephen Hoh (ILL) def. Tobias Wernet/Rok Bonin (MINN) 9-8 (7-1)
3. Dino Bilankov/Julian Dehn (MINN) def. #60 Dennis Nevolo/Johnny Hamui (ILL) 9-8 (7-4)
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,1,4,6,5,2)
Illinois (13-8, 5-0 Big Ten); National ranking #13
Minnesota (9-8, 2-3 Big Ten); National ranking #39
Players Mentioned
