University of Illinois: ILLINOIS BEGINS BIG TEN TOURNAMENT PLAY FRIDAY

Illinois - Big Ten Tournament
Date	Saturday, 2:00 p.m. CT vs. #16 Michigan
Location	Schwartz Tennis Center | West Lafayette, Ind.
Live Links	Live Scoring | B1G Tournament Central
2017 Information	Match Notes

First Serve: Illini Use Strong Singles Play to Earn Berth into B1G Semifinals     

The Fighting Illini men's tennis team topped the Purdue Boilermakers, 4-1 in the Big Ten Tennis Tournament quarterfinals on Friday night. Illinois redeemed an early season loss to Purdue at the Schwartz Tennis Center behind strong singles play. After losing the doubles point, the Illini would bounce right back in singles led by junior Aron Hiltzik, who defeated Ricky Medinilla, 6-2, 6-3 on court two. Fellow-junior Aleks Vukic was next off the court with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 104-ranked Gergely Madarasz. Vukic extends his singles winning streak to 19 matches, good for second all-time in program history.The Illini freshmen would complete the match down the stretch. Zeke Clark defeated Renan Hanayama, 6-4, 6-2 on court five. Aleks Kovacevic clinched Illinois's berth into the semifinals with a 6-3, 7-5 win on court three. Up next, the Orange and Blue will take on the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday afternoon at the Schwartz Tennis Center. First serve between the two Top-25 teams is set for 1 p.m. CT.

Vukic Earns B1G Athlete of Year, Hiltzik Adds All-Big Ten Conference Honors   

Fighting Illini junior Aleks Vukic was named the Big Ten Athlete of Year on Thursday afternoon to add to his already impressive resume this season. Vukic is the first Illini player to earn the honor since Farris Gosea won the award in 2014. Along with the Player of the Year award, Vukic and fellow-junior Aron Hiltzik were named to the First-Team All-Big Ten list. The duo were unanimous selections for the First Team, which is voted on by the league coaches. 

Vukic Collects Fifth Big Ten Weekly Honor  

Aleks Vukic was named the B1G Tennis Player of the Week for the fifth time this season on Tuesday. The Sydney, Australia native earned the award after completing a perfect 4-0 weekend, where Vukic defeated two ITA-ranked opponents on Sunday. In doubles, Vukic and freshman Vuk Budic topped the No. 13-ranked OSU duo of Pollanen and Torpegaard. The junior then went on to defeated the No. 1-ranked Mikael Torpegaard, 6-1, 6-3 to extend his singles winning streak to 18 matches. 

Freshmen Figuring it out 

With six freshmen making up over half of the Illinois roster, the class has been a staple in the Illini lineup this season. In five matches, UI has used five freshmen and one upperclassman in singles. Of late, freshman Aleks Kovacevic is riding a even match winning streak. 

Freshmen Focus 

The Fighting Illini opened the 2017 season with five freshmen in the starting lineup. Vuk Budic competed in doubles with junior Aleks Vukic. Gui Gomes, Zeke Clark, Aleks Kovacevic and Noe Khlif started on courts three through six in singles. With six freshmen, Illinois has the largest number of freshmen in the Big Ten and the only school in the conference to start five freshmen on opening day. 

Hiltzik Named Big Ten Tennis Player of the Week 

Aron Hiltzik was named the Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday, Jan. 16. Hiltzik was coming off a strong performance at the MLK Invitational in Atlanta, where he tallied a perfect 3-0 record against three ITA-ranked opponents.

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More: http://www.fightingillini.com/news/2017/4/27/mens-tennis-illinois-begins-big-ten-tournament-play-friday.aspx