Ohio State
University of Illinois
No. 2 Buckeyes Down No. 14 Illinois, Earn 10th Ranked Victory
3/27/2026 9:18:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Ohio State Faces Northwestern Sunday at 11 a.m. at Ty Tucker Tennis Center
COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 2 Ohio State defeated No. 14 Illinois 5-2 Friday at Ty Tucker Tennis Center, it was the Buckeyes 12th-consecutive win over the Fighting Illini.
The match marked the Buckeyes 10th ranked victory of the season and seventh at Ty Tucker Tennis Center. It was the fifth Big Ten win for Ohio State of the season.
Ohio State took the doubles point with victories on courts two and three. In singles, the Buckeyes clinched with two-set victories on courts two, three and four. Nikita Filin earned a third set tiebreaker victory to grab another point for Ohio State.
Ohio State improves to 18-3 on the season and 5-1 in the Big Ten, Alex Okonkwo led the Buckeyes with a victory in both singles and doubles action.
The Buckeyes resume play this Sunday at 11 a.m. against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ty Tucker Tennis Center. After the match on Sunday, Ohio State will travel for a pair of west coast matches, facing UCLA (Apr. 3, 7 p.m.) and USC (Apr. 5, 4 p.m.).
Doubles
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Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima grabbed the first doubles win for the Buckeyes, winning 6-2 after earning an early 4-1 lead.
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On court two, Alexander Bernard and Alex Okonkwo got out to a 3-0 lead and didn't let up, defeating the Fighting Illini 6-3 and clinching the doubles point for Ohio State.
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No. 1 ranked Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin went back-and-forth with No. 41 Kenta Miyoshi and William Mroz on court one, the Buckeye pair was leading 5-4 when the match was called.
Singles
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In the first set, courts one, three and five were tied at 4-all. Aidan Kim and Preston Stearns prevailed with a 7-6(4) tiebreaker win on court one and a 6-4 win on court three.
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Alex Okonkwo snagged the first singles point for the Buckeyes with a quick 6-2, 6-3 win on court four. It's his fifth singles win of the dual season.
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A few minutes later, for his 10th singles victory of the season, No. 27 Jack Anthrop downed No. 28 Gabriel Debru in a 6-1, 6-2 match.
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Preston Stearns earned a first set 6-4 win before finding himself down 3-0 in the second. Stearns won four-consecutive games and battled to a 7-5 victory, clinching an Ohio State win.
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The Buckeyes and Fighting Illini played out the remaining three matches.
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On court six, the match was tied at 1-all after Alexander Bernard and Hayden Jones each took a 6-2 set. The final set was tied at 4-4 before Jones prevailed and secured the first point for Illinois.
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Kim and Filin both had matches that lasted over two hours, going into a third set tiebreaker.
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Nikita Filin dropped the first set 6-4 before tying it up with a 6-4 second set. In the third set, he battled to a tiebreaker where got out to a 5-0 lead, earning a 7-2 tiebreaker win and extending the Buckeye lead to four, 5-1.
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Kim had the longest match of the day, he won the first set in a 7-6(4) tiebreaker and dropped the second set 6-4. In the third set tiebreaker, No. 23 Kenta Miyoshi defeated Kim 7-4, making the final score 5-2 Ohio State.
#2 Ohio State 5, #14 Illinois 2
Singles
1. #23 Kenta Miyoshi (ILLINI) def. #9 Aidan Kim (OSU) 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4)
2. #27 Jack Anthrop (OSU) def. #28 Gabriel Debru (ILLINI) 6-1, 6-2
3. #16 Preston Stearns (OSU) def. #101 William Mroz (ILLINI) 6-4, 7-5
4. #32 Alex Okonkwo (OSU) def. Adam Jilly (ILLINI) 6-2, 6-3
5. #85 Nikita Filin (OSU) def. Zach Viiala (ILLINI) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2)
6. Hayden Jones (ILLINI) def. Alexander Bernard (OSU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Doubles
1. #1 Brandon Carpico/Nikita Filin (OSU) vs. #41 Kenta Miyoshi/William Mroz (ILLINI) 5-4, unfinished
2. #17 Alexander Bernard/Alex Okonkwo (OSU) def. David Bakonyi/Zach Viialla (ILLINI) 6-3
3. #28 Aidan Kim/Bryce Nakashima (OSU) def. Gabriel Debru/Sasha Colleu (ILLINI) 6-2
Match Notes:
Illinois 15-5, 5-2 Big Ten; National ranking #14
Ohio State 18-3, 5-1 Big Ten; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,2,3,6,5,1)
Official: Christopher Cetrone T-3:08 A-404
#GoBucks
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
4,2,3,6,5,1
Players Mentioned
