University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Traveling to Face Ranked Foes
3/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The University of Minnesota Gopher are off to Illinois this weekend for matches against No. 15 University of Illinois and No. 13 Northwestern. They will play Illinois Friday at 3 p.m. and Northwestern on Sunday at 11 a.m.
The young Gophers are coming off a weekend where they fell to both Nebraska and Iowa. They are 6-11 overall on the season.
The defending B1G champs have eight conference matches left this season before hosting the Big Ten Tournament April 28-May 1.
The Lineup
Matic Spec won his last time out. He has played in the No. 1 spot in all but one match, and is 8-7 there with a 12-9 overall record this season.
Ruben Weber leads the team with a 16-8 overall record. He has played 12 matches at the No. 2 spot going 8-4 there. He is on a three match win streak.
Felix Corwin has played at least one match at spots 1-5 this season. He is 10-10 overall this year and is 2-1 in the No. 4 spot.
Freshmen Justyn Levin and Josip Krstanovic have both played in the No. 3, 4 and 5 spots. Levin has a 10-12 overall singles record this season. Krstanovic joined the team for the spring season, holding a record of 5-11.
Another freshman in Marino Alpeza has gotten matches in at the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots and is 11-13 this season. Jeremy Lynn has grabbed three wins at the No. 6 spot this season as well.
Doubles
Weber and Alpeza has played 12 matches together at the No. 1 spot and holds an 8-8 overall record together.
Lynn and Spec have played nine matches together at No. 2 and two at No. 3 holding a 6-5 record together this season, all in dual match play.
Krstanovic is 7-5 this season in doubles play holding a 6-4 record with Levin. He paired up with Corwin this weekend going 1-1 with him.
About Illinois
No. 15 Illinois is 10-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play this season. The Fighting Illini are coming off a successful weekend defeating Big Ten opponents Indiana and Purdue. Illinois has swept five teams this season.
Illinois holds three nationally ranked players on its roster. Sophomore Aleks Vukic is ranked fourth, while brothers Jared and Aron Hiltzik are ranked 10th and 59th, respectively. Vukic and Jared Hiltzik have both been named Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Week this season, with Vukic earning the honor twice.
About Northwestern
No. 13 Northwestern is 17-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play this season. The Wildcats have taken on 13 ranked opponents, defeating 11. Northwestern is riding on a three match win streak after winning a double header last Sunday. They opened their season with an 11 match win streak.
Northwestern boasts three nationally ranked players in its lineup, with No. 13 Konrad Zieba, No. 42 Sam Shropshire, and No. 97 Strong Kirchheimer. Shropshire recently earned Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Week.
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Players Mentioned
