JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - The Illinois College men's tennis team opened the 2024 spring schedule by hosting Southwestern Illinois College and Kaskasia College Saturday at Bellati Tennis Complex. The Blueboys dominated the day by taking down both opponents by the final scores of 6-3 respectively.
Match 1: Illinois College 6, SWIC 3
In the first match of the day against SWIC, the Blueboys got off to solid 2-1 lead after taking two-of-three double matches. In the No. 1 doubles match, the duo of
Jeff Wernsing and
Glenn Conway defeated their opponents by the score of 8-4. In the No. 3 doubles match,
Allen Oakley and Antonio Loiaza earned a doubles victory by taking down their opponents by the score of 8-4.
In singles matches, IC was able to capture four victories that ultimately lead to the victory. Wernsing played in the No. 1 singles match and defeated his opponent 6-3 and 6-1.
In the No. 3 singles match,
Grayson Dupre dropped the first set 4-6 but countered in set two by the score of 6-3 that force a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker set, G. Dupre and Hayden George-Duncan went back-and-forth and G. Dupre won the tiebreaker by the score of 12-10.
In the No. 4 singles match,
Andrus Dupre got in a early one-set deficit by dropping the opening set 3-6. However, A. Dupre responded in the second set and took the set 6-3 that forced a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker set, A. Dupre battled AJ Mills fiercely and won the tiebreaker set 11-9 to win the match.
In the No. 6 singles match, international student-athlete from Serbia,
Momir Vickovic put his talents on display by defeating his opponent in straight sets by the scores of 6-0 and 7-6.
Match 2: Illinois College 6, Kaskasia 3
In the double-header finale against Kaskasia College, the Blueboys got off to a 2-1 lead after taking No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches. The duo of Conway and Wernsing earned their second doubles match victory of the day by defeating their opponents 8-5. The Dupre twins worked together in the No. 2 doubles match and earned the tightly contested match 8-6. The No. 3 doubles team of Oakley and Vickovic battled their opponents closely but ultimately fell short by the score of 6-8.
In singles matches, the Blueboys earned four singles that helped propel to victory. In the No. 1 singles match, Wernsing had his hands full with Tejas Zalla as both student-athletes went point-for-point in set one as Wernsing took the set by the score 7-6. In the second set, Wernsing and Zalla continued to battled closely when Zalla took the set 6-4 that force a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker set, Wernsing captured the victory by winning the set 10-6.
In the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 singles matches, Conway and both Dupre's defeated their opponents in straight sets that captured the sweep for the day.
The Blueboys will continue this six-match homestand on Wednesday, March 20 hosting Lewis & Clark Community College at 5:00 PM at Bellati Tennis Complex.
