University of Georgia Athletics
Wednesday, February 15
Chicago
7 p.m.
University of Georgia
2
vs
4
Illinois
Georgia Unable to Defeat Illinois in Chicago
February 15, 2023 | Men's Tennis
CHICAGO – The University of Georgia men's tennis team fell to Illinois by a 4-2 result on Wednesday evening inside of the XS Tennis Village.
Redshirt seniors No. 8 Philip Henning and No. 62 Blake Croyder each earned wins in singles for No. 13 Georgia (4-4). Illinois (9-4) claimed the match by earning the doubles point and getting wins on courts one, three and four.
"The team is very disappointed about the result of the match today," said head coach Manny Diaz. "While we played great in several spots, as a team, we just didn't take advantage of our opportunities in enough matches. It wasn't our best performance, and we know we are capable of better. We need to get off the mat, dust off and get ready to attack our next match on Friday."
The Bulldogs' ranked doubles team on court one started the evening picking up a 6-2 win over Mathias Debru and Oliver Oknokwo, improving to 3-4 in the dual match season. With Teodor Giusca and Henning unable to pick up a win, the doubles point came down to court three, where Croyder and Britton Johnston were in a battle against Gabrielius Guauskas and Lucas Horve. The Georgia tandem managed to force a breaker but were just narrowly defeated, with the Fighting Illini taking an early 1-0 match lead.
Georgia came out in singles competition swinging and quickly took a 2-1 match lead following a pair of wins in singles. No. 62 Croyder earned his second consecutive straight-set win over Onkonkwo and improved to 14-9 overall. No. 8 Henning quickly followed him, earning a dominant ranked win over No. 123 Heck by a 6-2, 6-0 result.
The Bulldogs would then have to fight for third sets on the remaining courts but were unable to get any. No. 5 Quinn could not pick up a win against Karlis Ozolins and fell 6-4, 6-3, with Giusca also falling in straight sets on court four. No. 76 Bryde was in a battle against William Mroz but fell just short, losing a pair of breakers that allowed Illinois to clinch the match.
Georgia will return to action on Friday morning, where the team will begin its run at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoor Championships against conference foe South Carolina at 10 a.m. ET. The two teams have split results in their last four meetings, with the Bulldogs winning the most recent match on March 13, 2022, by a 4-3 score at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's Tennis on social media on Twitter and Instagram @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Singles competition
1. Karlis Ozolins (ILL) def. #5 Ethan Quinn (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
2. #8 Philip Henning (UGA) def. #123 Hunter Heck (ILL) 6-2, 6-0
3. William Mroz (ILL) def. #87 Trent Bryde (UGA) 7-6(7), 7-6 (2)
4. Kena Miyoshi (ILL) def. Teodor Giusca (UGA) 6-1, 6-4
5. #62 Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Oliver Oknokwo (ILL) 6-2, 7-5
6. Miguel Perez Pena (UGA) vs. Nic Meister (ILL) 3-6, 6-3, uf
Order of finish: 2 ,5, 1, 4, 3*
Doubles competition
1. #24 Ethan Quinn/Trent Bryde (UGA) def. Mathias Debru/Oliver Oknokwo (ILL) 6-2
2. Karlis Ozolins/Hunter Heck def. Philip Henning/Teodor Giusca (UGA) 6-2
3. Gabrielius Guauskas/Lucas Horve (ILL) def. Blake Croyder/Britton Johnston (UGA) 7-6(5)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*
Redshirt seniors No. 8 Philip Henning and No. 62 Blake Croyder each earned wins in singles for No. 13 Georgia (4-4). Illinois (9-4) claimed the match by earning the doubles point and getting wins on courts one, three and four.
"The team is very disappointed about the result of the match today," said head coach Manny Diaz. "While we played great in several spots, as a team, we just didn't take advantage of our opportunities in enough matches. It wasn't our best performance, and we know we are capable of better. We need to get off the mat, dust off and get ready to attack our next match on Friday."
The Bulldogs' ranked doubles team on court one started the evening picking up a 6-2 win over Mathias Debru and Oliver Oknokwo, improving to 3-4 in the dual match season. With Teodor Giusca and Henning unable to pick up a win, the doubles point came down to court three, where Croyder and Britton Johnston were in a battle against Gabrielius Guauskas and Lucas Horve. The Georgia tandem managed to force a breaker but were just narrowly defeated, with the Fighting Illini taking an early 1-0 match lead.
Georgia came out in singles competition swinging and quickly took a 2-1 match lead following a pair of wins in singles. No. 62 Croyder earned his second consecutive straight-set win over Onkonkwo and improved to 14-9 overall. No. 8 Henning quickly followed him, earning a dominant ranked win over No. 123 Heck by a 6-2, 6-0 result.
The Bulldogs would then have to fight for third sets on the remaining courts but were unable to get any. No. 5 Quinn could not pick up a win against Karlis Ozolins and fell 6-4, 6-3, with Giusca also falling in straight sets on court four. No. 76 Bryde was in a battle against William Mroz but fell just short, losing a pair of breakers that allowed Illinois to clinch the match.
Georgia will return to action on Friday morning, where the team will begin its run at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoor Championships against conference foe South Carolina at 10 a.m. ET. The two teams have split results in their last four meetings, with the Bulldogs winning the most recent match on March 13, 2022, by a 4-3 score at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's Tennis on social media on Twitter and Instagram @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Singles competition
1. Karlis Ozolins (ILL) def. #5 Ethan Quinn (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
2. #8 Philip Henning (UGA) def. #123 Hunter Heck (ILL) 6-2, 6-0
3. William Mroz (ILL) def. #87 Trent Bryde (UGA) 7-6(7), 7-6 (2)
4. Kena Miyoshi (ILL) def. Teodor Giusca (UGA) 6-1, 6-4
5. #62 Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Oliver Oknokwo (ILL) 6-2, 7-5
6. Miguel Perez Pena (UGA) vs. Nic Meister (ILL) 3-6, 6-3, uf
Order of finish: 2 ,5, 1, 4, 3*
Doubles competition
1. #24 Ethan Quinn/Trent Bryde (UGA) def. Mathias Debru/Oliver Oknokwo (ILL) 6-2
2. Karlis Ozolins/Hunter Heck def. Philip Henning/Teodor Giusca (UGA) 6-2
3. Gabrielius Guauskas/Lucas Horve (ILL) def. Blake Croyder/Britton Johnston (UGA) 7-6(5)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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