CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 9 Illinois continues Big Ten play this weekend with a pair of road matches. The No. 9 Illini first travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face Nebraska on Friday before heading to Madison, Wis., to play Wisconsin on Sunday.
LAST TIME OUT
The Illini extended their winning streak to eight matches with a trio of home victories last weekend. Illinois defeated Northern Illinois, 6-1, before opening conference play with back-to-back 4-0 sweeps of Oregon on Friday and Washington on Sunday at Atkins Tennis Center.
In Illinois’ most recent contest, a 4-0 win over Washington, the Orange and Blue first grabbed the doubles point with victories on Courts 2 and 3.
Illinois continued its dominance into singles play, winning all six first sets. Jeremy Zhang was first to strike, defeating Washington’s Daniel Bien, 6-2, 6-3, on Court 6. William Mroz would soon follow that up with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Stephane Kamendje on Court 2.
Colleu closed it out for the Illini with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Rohan Belday to give Illinois the 4-0 sweep.
OPPONENT SCOUT
The Cornhuskers enter the weekend with an 8-5 overall record this season and a 7-2 mark at home. Nebraska arrives after dropping its last three matches to Wichita State, Michigan State, and Michigan.
The Huskers started the season red-hot, opening their 2026 dual slate with six straight wins. Nebraska also secured a ranked victory over then-No. 24 Oklahoma State on its home courts on Feb. 27.
Friday’s hosts do not have any ranked singles or doubles players, though they are No. 51 in the most recent ITA computerized team rankings.
Wisconsin holds a 10-2 record (1-1 Big Ten) ahead of this weekend’s matches, which includes a perfect 7-0 mark on the Badgers’ home courts. UW fell in its most recent contest, a 5-2 defeat at Michigan State, but it had won its previous nine matches prior to last Sunday’s setback.
The Badgers feature one ranked singles player, No. 80 Michael Minasyan, in addition to a ranked doubles duo, No. 78 Oliver Olsson and Tomas Zlatohlavek.
ITA RANKINGS ROUNDUP
Team
- No. 9: Illinois
- No. 30: Wisconsin
- No. 51: Nebraska
Singles
Doubles
VIIALA SECURES B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK STATUS (MARCH 11)
Illinois redshirt sophomore Zach Viiala was recognized by the conference office on Wednesday as the Big Ten Player of the Week following his performances during the Fighting Illini’s wins over Northern Illinois, Oregon, and Washington.
Viiala earned conference weekly honors for the first time in his career, while this marks the third straight week that an Illini student-athlete has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week.
The Perth, Australia, native went 4-0 across singles and doubles play across the team’s three dual wins while remaining perfect on the singles courts this season.
On the doubles courts, Viiala began the weekend with a dramatic 7-6(6) win over Oregon’s Cameron Burton/Lachlan Robertson on Court 3 on Friday. Against Washington on Sunday, he secured a 6-3 triumph against the Huskie duo of Stephane Kamendje and Rohan Belday.
In singles play, Viiala posted a 6-2, 6-0 decision against Northern Illinois’ Chiao Bo Suo Nan on Court 4. He followed it up with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Oregon’s Cameron Burton.
Debru, Jilly Help #11 Illinois Sweep Big Ten Weekly Awards (March 4)
Fighting Illini freshmen Gabriel Debru and Adam Jilly were recognized by the conference office on March 4 with Big Ten weekly awards following their standout performances during Illinois’ wins over No. 6 TCU and No. 8 Baylor last week.
Debru was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the first time in his career, while Jilly was tabbed with Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the second time.
Debru went 4-0 across singles and doubles play during Illinois’ two top-10 wins. Recording three total ranked victories over the course of the weekend, including two over top-15 singles players, Debru moved up to No. 26 in the ITA singles rankings. Jilly also put together a perfect weekend with two singles triumphs of his own. He notched the fourth ranked decision of his collegiate career during that stretch while climbing to No. 111 in the ITA singles rankings.
The Illini claimed the Big Ten Player of the Week award in consecutive weeks after William Mroz received that recognition on Feb. 25. This marks the third Big Ten Freshman of the Week distinction for an Illini this season, with Jilly winning twice and Sasha Colleu securing the status on Jan. 21.
ILLINOIS EARNS BACK-TO-BACK TOP-10 NONCONFERENCE WINS (FEB. 27-28)
Over the course of consecutive nights, Illinois defeated No. 8 Baylor (Feb. 27) and No. 6 TCU (Feb. 28) at Atkins Tennis Center.
The Illini took the doubles point in both matches, while Gabriel Debru logged top-15 singles victories on Court 1 against both the Bears and the Horned Frogs. Kenta Miyoshi clinched the Friday night triumph with a ranked win on Court 2, while Adam Jilly’s three-set decision on Court 4 closed out Saturday’s victory.
Against No. 8 Baylor, the Orange and Blue drew first blood with a 6-3 victory by Gabriel Debru and Tyler Bowers over Baylor’s Alexandru Chirita and Zsombor Velcz on Court 1. On Court 2, Kenta Miyoshi and William Mroz finished the job with a 6-4 victory over Luc Koenig and Connor Henry Van Schalkwyk.
Adam Jilly started the singles action for Illinois with a 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 73 Alexandru Chirita of Baylor, marking his fourth ranked singles win of the season. Debru also snagged his third ranked triumph of the season with 6-4, 6-0 victory over No. 13 Devin Badenhorst.
Miyoshi would go the distance against No. 39 Zsombor Velcz, outlasting the Hungarian in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to secure a top-10 win for the Illini.
On Saturday against No. 6 TCU, the Illini once again came out strong in doubles play. Zach Viiala and Sasha Colleu were the first to finish, defeating TCU’s Maximus Dussault/Albert Pedrico on Court 3. Gabriel Debru and Tyler Bowers ultimately collected the doubles point with a ranked win on the top doubles court over No. 56 Cooper Woestendick/Oliver Bonding.
After the Horned Frogs got on the board with a win at No. 5, senior William Mroz jump-started the Illini in singles play with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 28 Cooper Woestendick of TCU on Court 3.
TCU evened the contest at 2-2, but the Illini freshmen ended up taking this one home, first with Gabriel Debru on the top singles court. The Frenchman notched his fourth ranked singles win of the season, defeating No. 9 Duncan Chan in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Adam Jilly then clinched the top-10 win for the Orange and Blue at No. 4 singles with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory over TCU’s Oliver Bonding, giving the Illini their second top-10 victory of the weekend.
MROZ CLAIMS B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR FIRST TIME (FEB. 25)
Fighting Illini senior William Mroz was named the Big Ten Player of the Week following his standout performances against North Carolina and UIC, the conference office announced on Feb. 25.
Mroz went 3-0 in singles and doubles play across the two matches, including a ranked win to clinch the Illini’s victory over the Tar Heels.
The Florida native began the weekend with a commanding 6-2 triumph over UNC’s Anthony Wright and Roan Jones at No. 2 doubles. Facing his first ranked opponent of the season in singles play, Mroz posted a 6-4, 6-4 decision to defeat No. 87 Ian Mayew and clinch Illinois’ 4-1 win.
Later that day on Sunday, Mroz closed out his strong weekend with a 6-1 triumph against UIC’s Henrique Sa/Eldin Nokic in the Illini’s 6-1 victory over the Flames.
Mroz earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career, while he is the first Illini to achieve that distinction this season.
ILLINOIS BRINGS IN FIVE FRESHMEN IN HIGHLY TOUTED 2025 RECRUITING CLASS
The Fighting Illini brought in five freshmen for the 2025-26 season: David Bakonyi, Sasha Colleu, Gabriel Debru, Adam Jilly, and Hayden Jones. Illinois’ 2025 recruiting class was ranked No. 2 in the nation by the Tennis Recruiting Network in May, though that ranking came prior to the high-profile signing of Debru in June.
One of the highest-rated players to ever compete collegiately, Debru hails from Grenoble, France, and holds career-high ATP rankings of No. 233 in singles and No. 273 in doubles. He has secured two singles titles in ATP Challenger Tour events, along with three singles titles on the ITF tour. He has also amassed one ATP Challenger title and two ITF titles in doubles play during his career. Still only 19 years old, Debru has competed three times in the singles qualifying rounds at Roland-Garros, one of the four Grand Slam events on the ATP Tour. Prior to his shift into professional tennis, Debru won the singles title at the 2022 Roland-Garros Junior Championships and soon became the top-ranked ITF junior player in the world in July 2022.
With a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 8, Jones holds career-best ATP rankings of No. 970 in singles and No. 602 in doubles. He has earned wild-card entries into singles qualifying for the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025 and was named the 2024 Australian Tennis Junior Male Athlete of the Year.
Colleu, a blue-chip recruit from Florida, was the 16th-ranked American in the Tennis Recruiting Network’s Class of 2025 rankings. Colleu has won two junior doubles titles, securing tournament wins at J100 Quebec City in September and J100 Mexico City in October. With five singles titles on the ITF juniors circuit, Colleu most recently claimed the singles tournament win at J100 Delray Beach on April 26.
David Bakonyi and Adam Jilly were part of the Illini’s previously No. 9-ranked class in TRN’s winter recruiting rankings. Bakonyi has a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 182, along with three junior singles and 13 junior doubles titles. Jilly has a career-best ITF junior ranking of No. 111, amassing four junior singles and nine junior doubles titles. Having already played together in doubles on the junior circuit, Bakonyi and Jilly have teamed up for eight junior doubles titles, including three during the 2024 season.
COLLEU EARNS B1G FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS (JAN. 21)
Freshman Sasha Colleu was named the Big Ten Men’s Tennis Freshman of the Week following the Fighting Illini’s season opener on Jan. 16, the conference office announced on Jan. 21.
Colleu earned the distinction after winning both his singles and doubles matches in Illinois’ season-opening contest against No. 7 Mississippi State at Atkins Tennis Center, during which Colleu made his dual debut.
The Miami native teamed up with fellow freshman Gabriel Debru to register a 6-0 victory over the Bulldogs’ Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano on Court 2, helping the Orange and Blue claim the doubles point. In singles play, Colleu secured a straight-set victory over No. 34-ranked Bryan Hernandez Cortes. Breaking twice within the first three games, the freshman tallied a 6-3 decision in the opening frame before posting a bagel in the second set en route to his 6-3, 6-0 win.
Colleu’s recognition marked the first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors of his career.
MROZ NAMED TO B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Fighting Illini senior William Mroz was named to the Big Ten’s Men’s Tennis Players to Watch list, the conference office announced on Jan. 9.
He was one of 14 Big Ten student-athletes to secure a spot on the Big Ten Men’s Tennis Players to Watch list. Mroz enters his final year at Illinois during the 2026 dual season.
During the Illini’s 2024-25 campaign, the Florida native secured All-Big Ten Second Team status for the first time in his career, posting a 20-9 overall mark and a 5-1 conference record on the singles courts. He also found success in doubles, finishing the year with a 17-9 tally overall and a 7-2 record in doubles play in the Big Ten.
An Academic All-Big Ten honoree, he climbed as high as No. 30 in the ITA singles rankings, which came in the final rankings of the fall season. He ultimately closed the 2024-25 slate at No. 81.
MIYOSHI SECURES ITA SINGLES ALL-AMERICA HONORS IN NOVEMBER
Illinois senior Kenta Miyoshi secured ITA Singles All-America honors for the second consecutive season before closing his time at the NCAA Singles Championship in the third round on Thursday.
The Japan native made his second straight appearance at the NCAA Singles Championship, finishing with two ranked wins during his time at the USTA National Campus in Florida.
Miyoshi began his run with a straight-set win over UC Santa Barbara’s No. 96-ranked Dominique Rolland in the opening round of singles action on Tuesday night. He then defeated No. 16 Edward Winter of Pepperdine in the second round in straight sets, helping him secure ITA All-American status and a spot in the third round for the second straight season.
His run ultimately came to a close in the third round with a two-set defeat to #22-ranked Trevor Svajda of SMU.
