ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A slow start in doubles created a deficit for the Illinois men's tennis team to overcome.
But the Illini found a way to pass their first test at the Big Ten championships, rallying for a 4-2 victory against Purdue on Friday afternoon.
Illinois, the No. 2 seed, will meet No. 3 seed Penn State in today's semifinals at 1 p.m.
Even a three-set loss at the No. 1 singles position from Aleks Kovacevic couldn't derail the Illini (17-7), who received wins from Alex Brown, Zeke Clark, Vuk Budic and Gui Gomes in straight sets to skate past the Boilermakers (10-14).