University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Finish Homestand at Baseline
3/29/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Live Scoring Live Streams Minneapolis, Minn.- The No. 33-ranked University of Minnesota men's tennis team completes their homestand this weekend with matches against Illinois and Northwestern. The Maroon & Gold host the Illini on Friday at 6 p.m. and the Wildcats on Sunday at noon.
The Gophers took down Iowa last Sunday in their return to Baseline to give them their second straight conference win. On the doubles side, the No. 69 ranked pair of Matic Spec and Felix Corwin grabbed a 6-2 victory in the top slot to start the day. Marino Alpeza and Josip Krstanovic follow suit with another 6-2 victory to give Minnesota the first point of the match.
On the singles side, No. 80 Spec secured another point for the team with a 6-3, 6-4 win at the top singles slot. Corwin would soon add Minnesota's third point of the day with a 7-5, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles.
Eli Ogilvy earned the clinching point for the Gophers as he won 6-4, 6-2 in the fourth singles slot. Alpeza and Stefan Milicevic were both defeated after victories at Nebraska against the Cornhuskers. Krstanovic earned the final point for the Maroon & Gold as he won his match at No. 5 singles.
The Gophers hold an all-time record of 27-39 against the Illini and 47-48-1 against the Wildcats. Minnesota currently holds a record of 13-4 on the season and 2-1 in conference play. Following the two home matches at Baseline, the Gophers travel to Ann Arbor and East Lansing to battle the Wolverines and Spartans in an all-Michigan weekend. Ohio State and Penn State are the final two schools on the road schedule before the team returns home for their last homestand. The final two matches at Baseline will feature the Purdue Boilermakers on April 21st, and the Indiana Hoosiers on April 23rd.
Gophers in the Rankings
The Gophers find themselves ranked No. 33 as a team this week, while they also have players ranked in both singles and doubles. Spec comes in at No. 80 on the singles side, while he and Corwin are ranked No. 69 for doubles in the latest ITA National Rankings.
About Illinois
The Illini are currently ranked No. 28 in the latest ITA Rankings, while players are ranked on both the singles and doubles side. Aleks Vukic is ranked No. 20 while Aron Hiltzik comes in at No. 30. The pair of Vukic and Hiltzik are ranked No. 23 for doubles and have recorded six straight wins. Illinois holds a 9-8 record on the season, but have lost three straight matches against ranked programs. Their most recent victory came against then No. 23 Northwestern, adding to their 2-1 record in the Big Ten.
About Northwestern
The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 19 as a team. For singles, Strong Kirchheimer is ranked No. 41 while his teammate Konrad Zieba settles in at No. 53. The doubles pair of Sam Shropshire and Zieba are ranked No. 33 in the latest rankings and Dominik Stary and Kirchheimer come in at No. 55. Northwestern is coming off three straight wins, two of which were conference victories. The team holds a 14-6 overall record and 2-1 conference record prior to visiting Wisconsin on Friday.
You can follow all of the action this year on the Gophers' Facebook, Twitter, and Instragram.
Players Mentioned
