University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Travel to Illinois and Indiana
4/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Another challenging weekend of Big Ten matches is up ahead for Minnesota as the Gophers face two more ranked opponents with road matches at Illinois and Indiana.
The 39th-ranked Gophers will play at 13th-ranked Illinois on Saturday before heading to 41st-ranked Indiana for a match on Sunday. Minnesota enters the weekend at 9-7 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten.
The Gophers have enjoyed success away from home this season with a 5-2 road record after posted a 3-6 record on the opponents' home courts last season when the team finished 19-8 overall. Minnesota was swept for the first time this season in its most recent match on Sunday against second-ranked Ohio State.
Freshman Rok Bonin had a five-match winning streak snapped on Sunday with a tight loss to 36th-ranked Justin Kronauge of Ohio State. Bonin is now 10-6 since joining the Gophers, including 8-2 at No. 3 singles.
Sebastian Gallego and Phillip Arndt are ranked 27th in the country in doubles with an 11-4 record for the season. The pair has won seven of its last nine matches with both losses coming to nationally-ranked opponents. They also have two wins over ranked tandems during the span.
Illinois entered a match on Wednesday at Kentucky at 12-7 overall and swept Purdue and Indiana by 6-1 scores last weekend. The wins came following a loss at Pepperdine, which Minnesota had beaten two weeks prior. Illinois has three ranked players as Dennis Nevolo is ranked 35th, Marek Czerwinski is 57th and Abe Souza is 85th. Nevolo and Czerwinski have combined for the nation's ninth-ranked doubles team.
Indiana has won seven of its last nine matches, but lost to Illinois in its most recent outing. The Hoosiers enter a match against Iowa at 11-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten. Indiana is 5-0 at home this season and freshman Josh McTaggart has posted a 26-9 overall record.
The Gophers suffered a tight 4-3 home loss to Illinois last season and trail the all-time series 35-25 as the Illini have won 20 straight in the series since 1996. Minnesota beat Indiana 6-1 last year in the regular season, but lost 4-1 to the Hoosiers in the Big Ten quarterfinals. The Gophers are 37-25 all-time against Indiana.
