URBANA — Whatever fire lit beneath the Illinois men's tennis team entering Big Ten play is clearly still burning.
The No. 14 Illini took care of Iowa with ease Sunday afternoon and picked up 5-1 win at Atkins Tennis Center, marking their 25th straight series victory over the Hawkeyes.
Behind a tiebreaker thriller in doubles from Aleks Kovacevic and Alex Brown, Illinois snatched the opening point and, for a fifth straight conference match, rode its strong singles play to a near-shutout.
Kovacevic and Brown each also won in singles, while Zeke Clark, Keenan Mayo and Noe Khlif also supplied wins.