Sunday, May 20, 2007
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Illinois knocked off No. 2 Ohio State in the NCAA men’s tennis championships, upsetting the Buckeyes 4-2 in the quarterfinals Saturday.
The 10th-seeded Fighting Illini dropped a tight doubles point, but took four singles matches. Ohio State lost for only the second time in 32 matches after beating Illinois twice this season — a 7-0 rout during the regular season and a 4-1 victory in the Big Ten finals.
Illinois got off to a good start at No. 1 singles when Kevin Anderson routed Bryan Koniecko 6-2, 6-1. Marc Spicijaric wrapped up the four-hour match on court five with a three-set victory over Devin Mullings.
The Illini advanced to Monday’s semifinals against fourth-ranked Baylor, which ended North Carolina State’s surprising run through the tournament with a 4-0 win.
No. 27 N.C. State reached Athens with an upset of sixth-ranked North Carolina, then defeated No. 11 Texas in the round of 16.
But Baylor advanced to the semifinals for the fourth straight year, winning doubles and capturing five of the first six sets in singles. Michal Kokta clinched the victory with a 6-4, 6-2 win over William Noblitt at No. 2 singles.
No. 3 Virginia moved on to the semifinals with a 4-1 victory over 12th-seeded Southern Cal.
The Cavaliers became the first team from the Atlantic Coast Conference to reach the semifinals. They will play the winner of the Georgia-UCLA match on Monday.
Virginia won a tight doubles point, clinched in a tiebreaker on court one by Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey. The Cavaliers used singles victories on the top three courts to finish off the win.