University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Illinois
Spec Stays Hot in Regular Season Finale
4/22/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
URBANA, Ill. - Matic Spec won his ninth-straight decision, but the Gopher Men's Tennis team fell 6-1 to No. 8 Illinois in the Big Ten regular season finale on Sunday afternoon.
No. 35 Minnesota (14-7) finished 7-3 in conference play and earned the fourth seed in this weekend's Big Ten Tournament to be held at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex in Iowa City, Iowa. Illinois honored both the Gophers and Illini seniors after the Maroon & Gold's senior day was canceled due to inclement weather last weekend.
One B1G Senior Day. #Illini #Gophers pic.twitter.com/pvr8EBIqUK
- Illini M Tennis (@IlliniMTennis) April 22, 2018
Illinois (19-6, 10-1 Big Ten) earned the second seed in next week's tournament. The Illini picked up the win in doubles play, edging out Minnesota 6-4 at #1 singles and 6-3 at #2 for the point. Spec, ranked no. 89 in the ITA singles rankings currently, picked up the lone victory for the Gophers on the day, winning 6-2, 7-6 (2) at the #2 singles position.
No. 95 Felix Corwin forced a third set against no. 17 Aleks Vukic but would fall 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the top match-up of the day. No. 85 Stefan Milicevic forced a third-set tiebreaker after Illinois had clinched the victory, but no. 73 Alex Brown edged him out, 6-2, 6-7 (7), and 10-4 in the breaker. The Illini won the last three singles positions early to stake the 4-0 lead needed for the victory.
Singles
1. #17 Aleks Vukic (UI) def. #95 Felix Corwin (MINN) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. #89 Matic Spec (MINN) def. Aron Hiltzik (UI) 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
3. #73 Alex Brown (UI) def. #85 Stefan Milicevic (MINN) 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 1-0 (10-4)
4. Aleks Kovacevic (UI) def. Josip Krstanovic (MINN) 7-5, 6-0
5. Zeke Clark (UI) def. Vlad Lobak (MINN) 6-2, 6-0
6. Caleb Chakravarthi (UI) def. Jackson Allen (MINN) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
1. Alex Brown/Caleb Chakravarthi (UI) def. Felix Corwin / Josip Krstanovic (MINN) 6-4
2. Aleks Vukic/Aleks Kovacevic (UI) def. Matic Spec / Eli Ogilvy (MINN) 6-3
3. Zeke Clark/Aron Hiltzik (UI) vs. Stefan Milicevic / Marino Alpeza (MINN) 5-5, unfinished
Order of Finish
Doubles (2, 1) … Singles (5, 4, 6, 2, 3, 1)
UP NEXT
Minnesota will await the victor of Indiana and Michigan State's first round Big Ten Tournament match-up on Thursday. First serve for the Gophers is set for Friday at 10 a.m. CT.
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Players Mentioned
