WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Fifth-ranked Illinois proved to be too much for the Purdue men's tennis team, posting a 6-1 win on the Basham Courts of the Schwartz Tennis Center Saturday in the B1G opener for both squads. Diego Acosta's upset of No. 62 Aron Hiltzik was the highlight for the No. 51 (tie) Boilermakers as they slipped to 2-4, 0-1 B1G. Illinois pushed its record to 5-1, 1-0 B1G.
Powered behind the nation's third-ranked tandem, the Illini captured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2. Ross Guignon and Tim Kopinski dealt Boilermakers Ricky Medinilla and Acosta a 6-3 setback in the No. 1 spot. It was just the second loss for the senior/sophomore duo.
Arthur Dobradin and Mateus Silva, who were playing side-by-side for the second time in as many matches, suffered a 6-1 loss to Farris Gosea and Jared Hiltzik to award the doubles point to the Illini.
Singles victories at Nos. 6, 3 and 1 were all that Illinois needed to clinch the dual. Acosta used a 6-3, 7-5 match to take down Hiltzik for his first win over a nationally ranked opponent this season. The win over the No. 62 singles player stands as the highest ranked opponent he has defeated in his career. He twice beat the No. 109 player, once as a freshman and then again as a sophomore. The win lifted Acosta to 3-1 in his final campaign.
The Boilermakers will head back into non-conference action for their next four matches. Up next on their schedule is a Feb. 13 date at DePaul. First serves are scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET.
NO. 5 ILLINOIS 6, NO. 51 PURDUE 1
Doubles
1. No. 3 Ross Guignon/Tim Kopinski (Illinois) def. Diego Acosta/Ricky Medinilla (Purdue), 6-3
2. Farris Gosea/Jared Hiltzik (Illinois) def. Arthur Dobradin/Mateus Silva (Purdue), 6-1
3. Blake Basarnik/Brain Page (Illinois) vs. Renan Hanayama/Lucas Dages (Purdue), 5-2 DNF
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
1. Farris Gosea (Illinois) def. No. 84 Ricky Medinilla (Purdue), 6-0, 6-1
2. Diego Acosta (Purdue) def. No. 62 Aron Hiltzik (Illinois), 6-3, 7-5
3. No. 40 Tim Kopinski (Illinois) def. Mateus Silva (Purdue), 6-1, 6-2
4. Toshiki Matsuya (Illinois) def. Arthur Dobradin (Purdue), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 1-0 (6)
5. Blake Basarnik (Illinois) def. Lucas Dages (Purdue), 6-3, 6-1
6. Brian Page (Illinois) def. Matt Bouggy (Purdue), 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 3, 1, 5, 2, 4