Tulane University
Illinois
No. 19 Men's Tennis Falls Just Short to No. 14 Illinois, 4-3
Feb 17, 2019 | Men's Tennis
"Tonight was a tough one," head coach and director of tennis Mark Booras said. "We had some chances and nearly squeaked it out, but just came up a little short. This weekend has been a tremendous experience for us, which I believe will really help down the road."
The battle began with a tight doubles point for the third day in a row for the Green Wave (4-6), as junior Luis Erlenbusch and senior Tyler Schick struck first with a convincing, 6-2 victory from the No. 2 spot in the lineup. The Illini (5-3) punched back however, securing a 6-3 win at No. 1 to leave the coveted first team point hanging in the balance at No. 3. Illinois pulled through from a 5-5 tie however to win the final two games and claim an early 1-0 edge in the overall match.
Tulane fell behind 2-0 after a setback at No. 1 singles, but roared back and flipped the momentum back in its favor with three consecutive straight-set singles wins at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5.
Sophomore Hamish Stewart finally got his chance to close out after holding leads in two incomplete matches on the first two days of the tournament when he notched an impressive, 6-2, 6-4 upset victory over 30th-ranked Zeke Clark on court three. Junior Dane Esses followed up with a 6-3, 6-4 upset of No. 125 Keenan Mayo on court four, before the 76th-ranked Schick finished off 116th-ranked Caleb Chakravarthi, 6-1, 7-5, on court three to give the Green Wave a 3-2 advantage.
The Illini knotted it up, 3-3, with a straight-set win on court six, as the decision came down to the result on court two. Junior and 63rd-ranked Ewan Moore battled back from from a first-set defeat in a tiebreaker to win the second frame, 6-2, against 23rd-ranked Alex Brown. The third set remained on-serve all the way to the eighth game with Moore trailing, 4-3, and the game tied 40-all. Brown was able to win the break point and all four points of the next game to clinch the match with a 6-3 victory in the final set.
"Competing against this level day in and day out shows us our strengths and weaknesses and gives us a good gauge of our level and what we need to do to improve," Booras said. "I'm excited for the rest of the season and I know the guys are, too."
Tulane returns home to host a pair of nationally-ranked opponents, beginning with TCU on Sunday, February 24, before welcoming Texas two days later. Both matches are scheduled for 1 p.m., starts and will be played at the City Park Tennis Center.
#14 Illinois 4, #19 Tulane 3
Singles competition
1. #24 Aleks Kovacevic (UI) def. #42 Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) 6-2, 6-3
2. #23 Alex Brown (UI) def. #63 Ewan Moore (TLN) 7-6 (7-0), 2-6, 6-3
3. Hamish Stewart (TLN) def. #30 Zeke Clark (UI) 6-2, 6-4
4. Dane Esses (TLN) def. #125 Keenan Mayo (UI) 6-3, 6-4
5. #76 Tyler Schick (TLN) def. #116 Caleb Chakravarthi (UI) 6-1, 7-5
6. Siphosothando Montsi (UI) def. Felix Ewers (TLN) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Alex Brown/Caleb Chakravarthi (UI) def. Ewan Moore/Akos Kotorman (TLN) 6-3
2. Luis Erlenbusch/Tyler Schick (TLN) def. Keenan Mayo/Aleks Kovacevic (UI) 6-2
3. Vuk Budic/Gui Gomes (UI) def. Hamish Stewart/Tim Ruetzel (TLN) 7-5
Match Notes:
Tulane 4-6; National ranking #19
Illinois 5-3; National ranking #14
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,3,4,5,6,2)
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