CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Junior Kenta Miyoshi qualified for the NCAA Individual Championships following his singles run at the ITA Midwest Regional, with his performance highlighting the Fighting Illini’s four days in East Lansing, Mich., from Oct. 11-14.
Miyoshi, the fifth-seeded player in the main draw, won five consecutive matches in straight sets to earn a spot in the NCAA Singles Championship in November. He defeated two ranked opponents during that stretch: No. 4-seeded and No. 13-ranked Sebastian Dominko of Notre Dame in the quarterfinals and No. 6-seeded and No. 70-ranked Alexander Bernard of Ohio State in the semifinals.
Seven Illinois student-athletes represented the program in the singles main draw at the ITA Midwest Regional, while three Orange and Blue duos took part in the doubles main draw.
William Mroz, the No. 12 seed in the singles main draw, picked up four victories and progressed to the semifinals before falling to Michigan State’s Ozan Baris, the top-ranked singles player in the country and the No. 1 seed in the bracket. Mroz secured a ranked win in the third round against No. 7-seeded and No. 72-ranked Aristotelis Thanos of Michigan State.
No. 11-seeded Tyler Bowers and Zach Viiala recorded two ranked wins and advanced all the way to the doubles final before falling to the top-seeded team, No. 17-ranked Benjamin Kittay and Gavin Young of Michigan, in the championship.
“First off, hats off to Michigan State for hosting a great tournament; it was very well-run and professional all weekend,” said head coach Brad Dancer. “Second off, thanks to all of the local mid-Michigan supporters who came out to support the Illini. It was great having some support here away from home. Looking at our tournament, I’m thrilled that Kenta will advance to the NCAA Championships for his efforts. I think Zach, Tyler, and Will were all right there at the precipice of making that advancement. There was big growth from Zach and Tyler from where they were a few weeks ago; they have come a long, long way.
“Will and Coach Tim Kopinski have a really good connection right now with his tactics and where he’s going with his tennis. I think it’s incredibly exciting for him right now growth-wise. We had guys who I think can perform better than they did, but right now with this team, it has nothing to do with a lack of effort. The intensity, the fight, and the spirit are there. When we walk out on the court, we look like Fighting Illini, and as a coach, you can’t ask for anything more. We showed this weekend that we’re here to fight and be tough in every single match, no matter what.”
Viiala and Mathis Debru each posted a victory in the first round of the main draw. Bowers, Gabrielius Guzauskas, and Jeremy Zhang all tallied at least one win in singles consolation play.
All three Illinois doubles pairings – No. 9 Guzauskas/Mroz, No. 10 Miyoshi/Debru, and No. 11 Viiala/Bowers – earned first-round byes before each Illini tandem moved on to the third round. Guzauskas/Mroz defeated No. 6-seeded and No. 62-ranked Felix Nordby/Vincent Yang of Northwestern, while Viiala/Bowers took down No. 2-seeded and No. 22-ranked Aristotelis Thanos/Ozan Baris of Michigan State to advance to the quarterfinals.
Viiala and Bowers then progressed to the semifinals against No. 7-seeded and No. 89-ranked Will Cooksey/Patorn Hanchaikul from Michigan before going on to the final with a victory against the No. 16-seeded tandem from Michigan State, Danial Rakhmatullayev/Taym Alazmeh.
The full results are listed below.
Results
Doubles Main Draw Round of 64 (Oct. 11)
[9] Gabrielius Guzauskas/William Mroz (Illinois) – BYE
[10] Kenta Miyoshi/Mathis Debru (Illinois) – BYE
[11] Zach Viiala/Tyler Bowers (Illinois) – BYE
Doubles Main Draw Round of 32 (Oct. 11)
[10] Kenta Miyoshi/Mathis Debru (Illinois) def. Quang Vinh Nguyen/Thomas Giles (DePaul), 8-0
[9] Gabrielius Guzauskas/William Mroz (Illinois) def. William Rassat/Chester Wickwire (Youngstown State), 8-4
[11] Zach Viiala/Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. Andy Hadziabdic/Jona Gitschel (DePaul), 8-3
Singles Main Draw Round of 64 (Oct. 11)
Mathis Debru (Illinois) def. Blake Roegner (Marquette), 7-5, 6-2
[8] No. 99 Anton Arzhankin (Western Michigan) def. Gabrielius Guzauskas (Illinois), 6-0, 6-3
[13] Patorn Hanchaikul (Michigan) def. Jeremy Zhang (Illinois), 6-2, 6-3
[12] William Mroz (Illinois) def. Matthew Fullerton (Wisconsin), 6-3, 6-1
[5] No. 42 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. Alex Fuchs (Ohio State), 6-4, 6-4
[4] No. 13 Sebastian Dominko (Notre Dame) def. Tyler Bowers (Illinois), 6-1, 6-3
Zach Viiala (Illinois) def. Tobias Leitner (DePaul), 6-1, 6-2
Singles Main Draw Round of 32 (Oct. 12)
[12] William Mroz (Illinois) def. Bjorn Swenson (Michigan), 6-4, 6-4
Michael Minasyan (Wisconsin) def. Zach Viiala (Illinois), 6-2, 6-1
[5] No. 42 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. David Saye (Michigan State), 6-0, 6-0
[1] No. 1 Ozan Baris (Michigan State) def. Mathis Debru (Illinois), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Singles Consolation (Oct. 12)
Gabrielius Guzauskas (Illinois) def. Josh Portnoy (Michigan State), 6-4, 6-3
Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) def. Kyran Magimay (Notre Dame), 3-6, 6-3, 10-3
Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. Reece Yakubov (Ohio State), 3-6, 6-3, 10-6
Doubles Main Draw Round of 16 (Oct. 12)
[9] Gabrielius Guzauskas/William Mroz (Illinois) def. [6] No. 62 Felix Nordby/Vincent Yang (Northwestern), 8-7(4)
[5] No. 42 Max Sheldon/Matthew Forbes (Michigan State) def. [10] Kenta Miyoshi/Mathis Debru (Illinois), 8-6
[11] Zach Viiala/Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. [2] No. 22 Aristotelis Thanos/Ozan Baris (Michigan State), 8-6
Doubles Main Draw Quarterfinals (Oct. 12)
[1] No. 17 Gavin Young/Benjamin Kittay (Michigan) def. [9] Gabrielius Guzauskas/William Mroz, 8-6
[11] Zach Viiala/Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. [7] No. 89 Will Cooksey/Patorn Hanchaikul (Michigan), 8-6
Singles Main Draw Round of 16 (Oct. 13)
[5] No. 42 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. Alex Cairo (Michigan), 6-1, 6-2
[12] William Mroz (Illinois) def. [7] No. 72 Aristotelis Thanos (Michigan State), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4)
Singles Main Draw Quarterfinals (Oct. 13)
[5] No. 42 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. [4] No. 13 Sebastian Dominko (Notre Dame), 6-2, 7-6(6)
[12] William Mroz (Illinois) def. Matthew Forbes (Michigan State), 6-3, 6-3
Doubles Main Draw Semifinals (Oct. 13)
[11] Zach Viiala/Tyler Bowers (Illinois) def. [16] Danial Rakhmatullayev/Taym Alazmeh (Michigan State), 6-4, 6-4
Singles Consolation (Oct. 13)
Gabrielius Guzauskas (Illinois) def. Artem Alekseychuk, 6-2, 6-2
[3] No. 9 Jack Anthrop (Ohio State) def. Jeremy Zhang (Illinois), 6-2, 6-1
Zach Viiala (Illinois) def. Mert Oral (Michigan), 6-3, 7-6
Chase Thompson (Notre Dame) def. Gabrielius Guzauskas (Illinois), 6-7(3), 7-5, 10-7
Singles Main Draw Semifinals (Oct. 14)
[1] No. 1 Ozan Baris (Michigan State) def. [12] William Mroz (Illinois), 6-4, 6-3
[5] No. 42 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. [6] No. 70 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State), 7-6(8), 6-4
Doubles Main Draw Final (Oct. 14)
[1] No. 17 Gavin Young/Benjamin Kittay (Michigan) def. [11] Zach Viiala/Tyler Bowers (Illinois), 7-5, 2-6, 15-13
Singles Main Draw Final (Oct. 14)
[1] No. 1 Ozan Baris (Michigan State) def. [5] No. 42 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-4, 6-3
