Tagged with: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, UCLA, USC

For the 2nd night in a row Champaign was the scene of a nail-biter but this time it was the host Illini coming out on top as they gutted out a 4-3 win over #6 North Carolina in a match that saw 5 of 6 singles matches go the distance with the deciding match coming down to a 3rd set tiebreak.  

North Carolina was able to seize the early momentum by taking the doubles point which was a point the Tar Heels figured they’d need due to having 2 of its singles starters (#2 Ronnie Schneider-shoulder & #6 Oystein Steiro-elbow) out with injuries.  

As evidenced by the the singles scores below nothing would come easy on any of the courts and it would take almost 2 hours before the first match finished which occurred at #5 singles when UNC’s Robert Kelly pulled off the upset and defeated #44 Aleks Vukic 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.  With North Carolina taking 4 1st sets they had to feel good but finishing off 3 more courts would be a tall task.  


With North Carolina now leading 2-0, it looked like Illinois’s Toshiki Matsuya would score the 1st point for the Illini when he had what appeared to be a commanding lead at #6 singles when he served up 6-2, 4-2 (40-15) but North Carolina’s Stuart DePaolo would mount a comeback and take 4 straight games to steal the 2nd set 6-4 and force a 3rd set.  

As the match at #6 went to a 3rd set, Illinois would finally get on the board when Tim Kopinski defeated Jack Murray at #4 singles by a 7-6(5), 6-2 score in a match that was anything but easy for Kopinski. Tim jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the 1st set and had 2 break points for a 5-1 lead but Murray rallied and won 5 of the next 6 games and served for the set before Tim broke to send it the tiebreak. In the tiebreak Murray would lead 5-4 with 2 points on his serve but Kopinski got both points and then a 3rd straight, with the last coming via an overrule, to take the tiebreak 7-5.  Kopinski used that momentum to take the 2nd set in much easier fashion.  

With North Carolina’s lead trimmed to 2-1, Illinois would get the equalizer to tie it at 2-2 when Matsuya regrouped and cruised to a 6-2 final set at #6 singles.

All 3 remaining matches were into a 3rd set and at #3 singles they stayed on serve until Illinois’s Aron Hiltzik served at 3-4 and was facing the deciding deuce point.  With Hiltzik serving into the deuce court he hit what he thought was an ace down the T and headed back to the wall to grab his towel however Hess-Olesen called the serve wide and his call was seconded by the chair.  Hiltzik was able to get his 2nd serve in play but he was unable to get a clean hit on the Hess-Olesen return and as the ball sailed into the net it looked like Illinois’s hopes of a comeback were going to be shattered because over at #1 singles North Carolina’s Brayden Schnur had built a 5-2 lead in the 3rd set against Farris Gosea.

As UNC’s Esben Hess-Olesen served for the match at #3, Gosea got an easy hold on 1 to cut the deficit to 3-5, and Illinois’s Jared Hiltzik inched closer to the finish line at #2 as he had 2 match points on the Brett Clark while leading 5-3.   While Hess-Olsen did finish off the younger Hiltzik 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to put UNC up 3-2, the Tar Heel #1 Brayden Schnur was unable to do so at #1 singles getting broke at 30-40 which put the match back on serve.  On that 30-40 point, as Schnur came to the net Gosea was able to land a lob over Schnur’s back shoulder and as Schnur turned to chase the ball he slipped and came down awkwardly and then walked around with a limp and held his side during the changeover.  Gosea would hold at 40-15 to tie it up at 5-5 before Schnur would get his bearings straight and put together a love hold for 6-5.  Gosea will then hold at 40-30 to send the match to a deciding 3rd set tiebreak.  Just as the tiebreak got going Illinois’s Jared Hiltzik was able to tie the match at 3 as he served out a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over UNC’s Brett Clark at #2 singles so all attention was now on the 3rd set tiebreak at #1.  Schnur would jump out to a 4-2 lead before Gosea took 3 straight to lead 5-4 and Gosea was serving. Schnur would even it at 5 but then would hit a back hand into the net to give Gosea his 1st match point and Gosea would not waste it as he hit a backhand cross court past the drawn in Schnur to send the Illini faithful into a frenzy. Final score Illinois 4-3.

YouTube Clips:
Video of Gosea serving at 4-5 in the 3rd and Schnur serving 5-5
Video of Gosea serving at 5-6 in the 3rd
Video of the 1st 6 points of the match
Video of the final 6 points of the match

Illinois recap
UNC recap

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In the 2nd half the SEC/Pac 12 Challenge, Georgia looked to even the score for the SEC after Florida fell earlier to USC 4-2 and the Bulldogs would not let down the crowd and would take a thrilling (for the home fans) 4-2 win over UCLA. Georgia got things started off by taking the doubles point and looked poised to take all 4 1st sets but while Wayne Montgomery and Austin Smith were able to close out 6-1 sets at #2 and #3, UCLA’s Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki would take the opening sets at #1 and #4 in tiebreaks with McDonald fighting off set points at 5-6 40-40 and at 5-6 in the tiebreak.  While Montgomery cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win at #2 singles to give Georgia a 2-0 lead, UCLA would take the momentum back as McDonald and Redlicki both breezed through their 2nd sets to even the match at 2-2.  Due to there being 4 indoor courts in Athens, the matches at #5 and #6 singles weren’t able to start until 2 courts opened up so the focus then turned to #3 singles where Georgia’s Austin Smith jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the 2nd after taking the 1st 6-1 but Brymer would get it back on serve and ultimately send it to a 2nd set tiebreak.  With UCLA’s Karue Sell taking the opening set at #5 singles and Joseph Di Giulio going up an early break at #6 singles the tiebreak at #3 was one that Georgia had to have to keep the match from snowballing the Bruins way.  Brymer would jump out to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak but Smith would rally and take 6 of the next 7 points to close out the 6-1, 7-6(5) win which put Georgia back ahead 3-2.  Georgia’s Nick Wood was able to ride the energy coming from Smith’s court and would ultimately come all the way back from a set down and seal the deal with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win at #5 singles.  Final score Georgia 4-2.

Georgia recap
UCLA recap

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Early final score in from Athens and it’s #1 USC holding off a tough Florida squad 5-2.

USC recap
Florida recap