JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's tennis team won its third match in less than 36 hours on Monday evening, making quick work of Fontbonne University by a score of 9-0 at the Bellatti Tennis Complex. With the win, the Blueboys improve to 4-6 on the year.
Fontbonne had only five players in uniform, so Illinois College started the match with a 2-0 advantage thanks to default wins at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. The Blueboys quickly doubled that lead to 4-0 after a pair of 8-0 victories in the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles matches.
Miguel Vaca and
Michael Connolly claimed the win at No. 1, while
Jonah Wheeland and
Connor McAndrew got the win at No. 2.
Following doubles, Illinois College put together five straight-set wins in singles, with only the No. 1 match being all that closely-contested.
Jacob McQueen got things started with a win at No. 5, 6-0, 6-0 over Hayden Thompson to clinch the win.
Cameron Doerr added a 6-0, 6-1 triumph at No. 4 singles over Brandon Baumgartner shortly thereafter. Next to finish was Connolly with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Anh Nguyen at No. 3 singles. Wheeland made it 8-0 with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Zach Stevens at No. 2. That left Vaca at No. 1 singles as the only match remaining. Though he received a strong challenge from Sebastian Culton, the IC senior was able to emerge with a 7-5, 6-4 victory, improving to a team-best 6-3 on the season.
Illinois College will put its winning streak on the line this weekend with a road trip to Wisconsin for a pair of Midwest Conference matches. First up are two matches on March 30, facing Ripon College at 9 a.m. followed by Lawrence University at 3 p.m.
