2016 Illini Tennis

#1      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
Since hoops season is pretty much done, let's look at something more enjoyable, another top 10 team this year. Illini are currently ranked #7 by the ITA. Illini are 3-0 and play @ Duke this evening. The schedule is a killer, using current rankings:

@ #24 Duke
@ #10 UNC
#35 ND rematch of an earlier meeting
ITA Indoors which features the top 16 ranked teams
#4 Texas A&M
#1 UVA
#3 TCU
#21 Northwestern
@ #5 Baylor
@ #51 Kentucky

then on to B1G play

So depending on the ITA draw, they could play the top 5 teams in the country. And towards the end of the season they'll play @ #8 Ohio St.

Nice change in that we've won the doubles point in all 3 matches so far. Not sure that will continue, but we will be pretty tough to beat if we do get the doubles point since our 1-3 spots in singles are really good. It looks like Aleks Vucik will be playing #1, Jared Hiltzik #2, Aaron Hiltzik #3. They should all be ranked in the top 40 when the singles rankings are updated next month. Red shirt JR Julian Childers has had a nice start and should be solid at #4 singles. 5/6 singles currently are RS Jr Alex Jesse and freshman Asher Hirsch though we could also see Brian Page there as well.

Big Ten will be the usual battle between Illinois and Ohio St. Nationally, the Illini should host a regional and make the Sweet 16 again, advancing further than that will depend on how well the bottom of the lineup develops and how the draw shakes out.
 
#2      

illinifaninwi

I
DeForest, Wisconsin
illinifaninwi
It's great to be talking tennis again. I feel strongly that this year's team can be better than the 2015 version. As you mentioned, the key is doubles play. Illinois has traditionally been mediocre at best in doubles during the Dancer years.

The top four in singles is outstanding, Jesse should be a good #5, and time will tell on #6. I wasn't expecting Hirsch to jump a few of the returning options. Hopefully he plays strong because it's likely the Illini will only win half of the doubles points in matches against the top 50.

With another strong crop of recruits coming in next year, the Illini should continue to be ranked among the nation's elite going forward.

Go Illini!
 
#3      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
illinifaninwi said:
With another strong crop of recruits coming in next year, the Illini should continue to be ranked among the nation's elite going forward.
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Yeah, they have Zeke Clark on the way who would ideally just step in for Jared Hiltzik in the lineup. However, given that Vucik took the fall off to play pro events and did really, really well I'm worried that this may be his last season playing @ Illinois. I guess his family is very pro-education so maybe that keeps him in school, but it's certainly possible he leaves.

Dancer seems to really develop his players, so maybe we have another player step up next year that we don't know much about right now.
 
#4      

illinifaninwi

I
DeForest, Wisconsin
illinifaninwi
WesterveltVictoryCigar said:
Yeah, they have Zeke Clark on the way who would ideally just step in for Jared Hiltzik in the lineup. However, given that Vucik took the fall off to play pro events and did really, really well I'm worried that this may be his last season playing @ Illinois. I guess his family is very pro-education so maybe that keeps him in school, but it's certainly possible he leaves.

Dancer seems to really develop his players, so maybe we have another player step up next year that we don't know much about right now.
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I'm hopeful that Vukic will stay through his junior year. I'm curious what Matsuya, Landa, and Jiang can offer in the future.
 
#8      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
Illini go down 4-0 but it was much closer than the score indicates. Doubles point came down to a tie breaker at #2 doubles that UNC won. Then they won at #3/4/5 singles, but Illinois was ahead at #2/6 and J Hiltzik had just won his second set 6-2 to force a 3rd.
 
#9      

illinifaninwi

I
DeForest, Wisconsin
illinifaninwi
WesterveltVictoryCigar said:
Illini go down 4-0 but it was much closer than the score indicates. Doubles point came down to a tie breaker at #2 doubles that UNC won. Then they won at #3/4/5 singles, but Illinois was ahead at #2/6 and J Hiltzik had just won his second set 6-2 to force a 3rd.
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True. That said, you cannot get blanked by UNC and expect big things. They only beat Duke because the Blue Devils are down a bit this season. Dancer and crew need to step it up in the coming weeks. The talent is there.
 
#10      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
illinifaninwi said:
True. That said, you cannot get blanked by UNC and expect big things. They only beat Duke because the Blue Devils are down a bit this season. Dancer and crew need to step it up in the coming weeks. The talent is there.
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Aron Hiltzik needs to play better, lost both his matches at #3 singles in straight sets. Hirsh has played pretty well at #6 and the doubles teams seem to be improved over last year.

I don't really expect "big" things from this team. As I said in the first post, I think they will reach the S16 again, but the better teams will be able to match our strength at the top of the lineup and will have better players 4-6 most of the time.

We'll find out starting in a couple of weeks when the ITA Indoors gets going. For the rest of Feb, they are going to be playing a bunch of good teams.
 
#11      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
Illini beat a mediocre ND team again last night, 5-2. Next weekend it's the ITA Indoors where you're going to be playing very good teams, will be interesting to see how the Illini stack up. If they can continue to win that doubles point, they could do well.
 
#12      

ilphotog

ilphotog
The camera never lies
Champaign
ilphotog
WesterveltVictoryCigar said:
Illini beat a mediocre ND team again last night, 5-2. Next weekend it's the ITA Indoors where you're going to be playing very good teams, will be interesting to see how the Illini stack up. If they can continue to win that doubles point, they could do well.
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Vuk absolutely destroyed his opponent last night, just complete domination. The kid still looked really distraught an hour later.
 
#19      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
UNC wins the ITA Indoors, very impressive. And as I posted earlier, our match was closer than the 4-0 score indicated. Still think we need to find some answers at the bottom of the lineup to do much better than S16, though.
 
#20      

illinifaninwi

I
DeForest, Wisconsin
illinifaninwi
WesterveltVictoryCigar said:
UNC wins the ITA Indoors, very impressive. And as I posted earlier, our match was closer than the 4-0 score indicated. Still think we need to find some answers at the bottom of the lineup to do much better than S16, though.
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You're absolutely correct. I thought 3-6 would be stronger; however, there is plenty of time for improvement.

Vukic is a very good #1 and Jared is playing better recently.
 
#22      

ilphotog

ilphotog
The camera never lies
Champaign
ilphotog
Talk about timing, running on one hour of sleep, I spent 11 hours shooting indoor soccer today, came home exhausted and hungry. While downloading the soccer pics I checked the tennis score. I thought they had a chance, so I threw my shoes back on, grabbed a camera, jumped in my car and sped over to Atkins. As I walked through the door Illinois tied it 3-3. Sat down by Vuk's court and shot a point by Virginia and then Vuks awesome winning point and the celebration. Not bad for 10 minutes work. Just glad that I actually got up and left when I did, not a minute to spare.
 
#23      

Konnie

K
Western Suburbs
Konnie
ilphotog said:
Talk about timing, running on one hour of sleep, I spent 11 hours shooting indoor soccer today, came home exhausted and hungry. While downloading the soccer pics I checked the tennis score. I thought they had a chance, so I threw my shoes back on, grabbed a camera, jumped in my car and sped over to Atkins. As I walked through the door Illinois tied it 3-3. Sat down by Vuk's court and shot a point by Virginia and then Vuks awesome winning point and the celebration. Not bad for 10 minutes work. Just glad that I actually got up and left when I did, not a minute to spare.
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Sorry if I should know the answer to this question but where can I find some of the pictures?