WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 60 Purdue men's tennis team stormed back to topple No. 20 Illinois, 4-3, for the program's highest ranked win in 11 years. The match, which included a top-12 nationally-ranked singles victory for junior Aleksa Krivokapic, and a dual-clinching victory for freshman Maj Premzl, allowed the Boilermakers to remain undefeated this season at Schwartz Tennis Center with a 9-0 home record.
Purdue now sits at 9-3 overall (1-2 Big Ten) while handing No. 20 Illinois its first loss of conference play, falling to 8-5 (2-1 Big Ten). The victory also marked Purdue's second ranked win of the season (last: No. 32 Boise State, 4-1, in February).
After falling behind to a 0-2 lead, the Boilermakers battled back against the Fighting Illini, taking three of the next four courts to tie the dual, 3-3. The match came down to the No. 3 position, decided by a pair of underclassmen in freshman Maj Premzl and Illinois sophomore Jeremy Zhang's court. Premzl came through for the win behind 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3 wins to improve to a
No. 1 singles Aleksa Krivokapic earned the first nationally-ranked win of his career, taking down No. 12 Kenta Miyoshi. After a 1-6 Set 1 defeat, Krivokapic stormed back, taking down Miyoshi 6-4 and 6-1. The junior, who won the Big Ten singles title in November and competed at the Davis Cup for his home country of Montenegro earlier this year, secured his fifth win of the season (5-5 record).
In doubles, the Boilermakers battled hard, owning leads on two courts before the Fighting Illini ultimately came back to win the team point behind a 6-4 score at the No. 2 position and a tiebreaker at the No. 1 position's 7-6 (4) result.
The win was the highest ranked win for head coach Geoff Young at Purdue in addition to the program's biggest takedown in 11 years when Purdue downed No. 16 Penn State, 6-1 on April 11, 2014 in West Lafayette.
Purdue returns to action at Schwartz on Sunday, where the team will host Northwestern at 3 p.m. ET.
Doubles
1. Tyler Bowers / Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) def. Aleksa Krivokapic / Maj Premzl (PUR): 7-6 (4)
2. Zach Viiala / William Mroz (ILL) def. Daniel Labrador / Nour Fathalla (PUR): 6-4
3. Mathis Debru / Jeremy Zhang (ILL) vs. Mujtaba Ali-Khan / Stefan Simeunovic (PUR): 5-5 (Unfinished)
Singles
1. Aleksa Krivokapic (PUR) def. #12 Kenta Miyoshi (ILL): 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. #48 William Mroz (ILL) def. Stefan Simeunovic (PUR): 6-3, 6-4
3. Maj Premzl (PUR) def. Jeremy Zhang (ILL): 6-4, 6-7 (4) , 6-3
4. Daniel Labrador (PUR) def. Tyler Bowers (ILL): 6-4, 6-4
5. Nour Fathalla (PUR) def. Zach Viiala (ILL): 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-0
6. Mathis Debru (ILL) def. Mujtaba Ali-Khan (PUR): 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2, 1
Singles: 6, 2, 1, 4, 5, 3
Purdue now sits at 9-3 overall (1-2 Big Ten) while handing No. 20 Illinois its first loss of conference play, falling to 8-5 (2-1 Big Ten). The victory also marked Purdue's second ranked win of the season (last: No. 32 Boise State, 4-1, in February).
After falling behind to a 0-2 lead, the Boilermakers battled back against the Fighting Illini, taking three of the next four courts to tie the dual, 3-3. The match came down to the No. 3 position, decided by a pair of underclassmen in freshman Maj Premzl and Illinois sophomore Jeremy Zhang's court. Premzl came through for the win behind 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3 wins to improve to a
No. 1 singles Aleksa Krivokapic earned the first nationally-ranked win of his career, taking down No. 12 Kenta Miyoshi. After a 1-6 Set 1 defeat, Krivokapic stormed back, taking down Miyoshi 6-4 and 6-1. The junior, who won the Big Ten singles title in November and competed at the Davis Cup for his home country of Montenegro earlier this year, secured his fifth win of the season (5-5 record).
In doubles, the Boilermakers battled hard, owning leads on two courts before the Fighting Illini ultimately came back to win the team point behind a 6-4 score at the No. 2 position and a tiebreaker at the No. 1 position's 7-6 (4) result.
The win was the highest ranked win for head coach Geoff Young at Purdue in addition to the program's biggest takedown in 11 years when Purdue downed No. 16 Penn State, 6-1 on April 11, 2014 in West Lafayette.
Purdue returns to action at Schwartz on Sunday, where the team will host Northwestern at 3 p.m. ET.
Doubles
1. Tyler Bowers / Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) def. Aleksa Krivokapic / Maj Premzl (PUR): 7-6 (4)
2. Zach Viiala / William Mroz (ILL) def. Daniel Labrador / Nour Fathalla (PUR): 6-4
3. Mathis Debru / Jeremy Zhang (ILL) vs. Mujtaba Ali-Khan / Stefan Simeunovic (PUR): 5-5 (Unfinished)
Singles
1. Aleksa Krivokapic (PUR) def. #12 Kenta Miyoshi (ILL): 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. #48 William Mroz (ILL) def. Stefan Simeunovic (PUR): 6-3, 6-4
3. Maj Premzl (PUR) def. Jeremy Zhang (ILL): 6-4, 6-7 (4) , 6-3
4. Daniel Labrador (PUR) def. Tyler Bowers (ILL): 6-4, 6-4
5. Nour Fathalla (PUR) def. Zach Viiala (ILL): 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-0
6. Mathis Debru (ILL) def. Mujtaba Ali-Khan (PUR): 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2, 1
Singles: 6, 2, 1, 4, 5, 3