Urbana Tennis Royale, Tigers lose season opener to the Illineks

URBANA - Aryan Sachdev is off to a great start on the hardcourt this spring. The Urbana University senior picked up his fifth win of the season after defeating Urbana's Xander Ashley 6-1, 6-1, on the #1 singles court on Wednesday. In fact, the Illineks took all six singles matches to prevail 8-1 over the Tigers.

It wasn't all bad for Ashley, who later partnered with teammate Luke Pankau to win their match at #3 singles.

Meanwhile, on doubles court #2, Urbana's Santi Lleras and Karl Bonita pushed their match against Uni's Robert Gao and Ian Pan to a third-set tiebreak. Dropping the first set 7-5, Gao/Pan rallied back strong to take the second 6-1. Unable to match the firepower from the University High opponents, Lleras/Bonita gave a valiant effort as the sun dipped below the horizon, losing 10-4 under the lights.

Uni plays their next home match April 11 against Paris at Atkins Tennis Center starting at 4:30 p.m. The Tigers host Matton tomorrow at Blair Park at 2 p.m.

Photo Gallery

BOX SCORE ~

Singles:
No. 1 - Aryan Sachdev, U-High def. Xander Ashley, Urbana, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 - Mason Miao, U-High def. Joe Solava, Urbana, 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 - Taehan Lee, U-High def. Ian Peters, Urbana, 6-0, 7-5
No. 4 - Swapnil Kumar, U-High def. Samuel Sherwood, Urbana, 6-0, 6-0
No. 5 - Kyle Fan, U-High def. Jack Perry, Urbana, 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 - Shreyas Singh, U-High def. Santi Lleras, Urbana, 6-3, 5-7, 10-2

Doubles:
No. 1 - Taehan Lee/Swapnil Kumar, U-High def. Joe Solava/Ian Peters, Urbana, 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 - Robert Gao/Ian Pan, U-High def. Santi Lleras/Karl Bonita, Urbana, 5-7, 6-1, 10-4
No. 3 - Xander Ashley/Luke Pankau, Urbana def. David Risinger/Collins Rosch, U-High, 7-5, 6-1

FINAL: University High 8 - Urbana 1

Ashley/Pankau pick up win doubles for Urbana at home tennis match

Urbana's Xander Ashley (left) and partner Luke Pankau congratulate their opponents after their doubles match on Wednesday against U-High's David Risinger and Collins Rosch. Despite securing their win at #3 doubles, the Tigers fell 8-1 to the visiting Illineks. Urbana is back in action at Blair Park for another home match, hosting Mattoon starting at 2 p.m. on Friday. Ashley and Pankau prevailed after a 7-5 first-set nailbiter, taking the second set six games to one.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Related tennis stories
• • • • •

CU is a great place for tennis; 5 really good reasons why you want play, too

Playing tennis, like several other active sports, is a worthwhile activity for activating the brain and keeping neural networks functioning longer because it requires a combination of tactical thinking, creativity, coordination, and agility. One benefit to hitting the courts on the reg is ...

See more . . .

Your guide to playing outdoor tennis in the Midwest this winter

Playing tennis when the temperatures dip below the 50º mark is not nearly as bad as you might think. Once you start focusing on hitting the ball and winning points, and your body ...

See more . . .

6 questions with Jason Zumwalt

CHAMPAIGN - We caught up with the Centennial head coach Jason Zumwalt over spring break to get the scoop on the upcoming boys' tennis season. Zumwalt, a veteran player, competitor, and ...

See more . . .

Uni-High picks up road win over Urbana

University High's Taehan Lee slices a short ball back over the net during his doubles match against Urbana High School's Joe Solava and Ian Peters. Lee and partner Swapnil Kumar won the match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. The Illineks won the dual match over the Tigers, 8-1. The team's next home match, played at Atkins Tennis Center, is on April 11 against Paris.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Related tennis stories
• • • • •

Okonkwo misses cut to advance at Urbana challenger

URBANA - Oliver Okonkwo hits a monster forehand shot during his match against Hunter Heck at the Paine Schwartz Partners Challenger held at Atkins Tennis Center. After winning ...

See more . . .

Your guide to playing outdoor tennis in the Midwest this winter

Playing tennis when the temperatures dip below the 50º mark is not nearly as bad as you might think. Once you start focusing on hitting the ball and winning points, and your body ...

See more . . .

6 questions with Jason Zumwalt

CHAMPAIGN - We caught up with the Centennial head coach Jason Zumwalt over spring break to get the scoop on the upcoming boys' tennis season. Zumwalt, a veteran player, competitor, and ...

See more . . .

Urbana sees substanial storm damage

The limb of a large pine tree lays on an outfield fence at Blair Park on Thursday after a storm that produced nearly 80mph windspeeds passed through the area. In its wake, the storm left over 28,000 homes without power in Champaign County and more 170,000 homes in Ameren's service area.

"Unfortunately, we do not have a safe estimated restoration time. Crews are being dispatched from other Ameren Illinois regions and from neighboring states to help with restoration efforts. We truly appreciate your patience and understanding while our crews work through the night to restore as many customers as quickly and safely as possible," said Ameren employee Linda, who signed a response to a question on the company's Facebook page. To sign up for alerts and outage updates from Ameren, text REG to AMEREN (263736).

Scheduled flights to and from Willard Airport were canceled by airport officials after damaging winds from the powerful derecho caused a power outage and damaged the roof of the commercial terminal.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Tigers blanked in home match against Morton

Photo:PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Tigers' Ian Peters hits a serve while playing doubles with Luke Pankau during their team's home match against Normal West last Wednesday. Peters and Pankau were edged out of a win last week to West's Brian Bach and Alex Lamboley at #2 doubles after forcing a third-set tiebreak, 1-6, 7-5, 10-12.

URBANA - Despite windy tennis conditions, Ian Peters fell in singles and doubles action at Blair Park during Urbana High School's home meet against Morton.

Playing in the #6 singles spot, Peters gave his all in his first set against Potters' Asa Olden. After narrowly losing the first set 7-6, he could only muster just two wins on his way to dropping the second set 6-2. Once again teamed-up with Luke Pankau, the duo suffered a double-bagel at #2 doubles at the hands of Morton's Carter Kendall and Joe Campbell.

After picking up conference wins over both Normal West and Centennial 6-3 last week, the Tigers' tennis team lost the non-conference match to Morton, 9-0.

Box Score

Urbana - 0, Morton - 9

Singles:

No. 1 - Carter Kendall, Morton def. Parker McClain, Urbana (H.S.), 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 - Aiden Belsly, Morton def. Elijah Walker, Urbana (H.S.), 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 - Joe Campbell, Morton def. Joe Solava, Urbana (H.S.), 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 - Blake hoemaker, Morton def. Xander Ashley, Urbana (H.S.), 6-0, 6-1
No. 5 - Seth Klopfenstein, Morton def. Jack Perry, Urbana (H.S.), 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 - Asa Olden, Morton def. Ian Peters, Urbana (H.S.), 7-6, 6-2

Doubles:

No. 1 - Aiden Belsly, Morton - Blake shoemaker, Morton def. Parker McClain, Urbana (H.S.) - Elijah Walker, Urbana (H.S.), 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 - Carter Kendall, Morton - Joe Campbell, Morton def. Luke Pankau, Urbana (H.S.) - Ian Peters, Urbana (H.S.), 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 - Seth Klopfenstein, Morton - Asa olden, Morton def. Xander Ashley, Urbana (H.S.) - Joe Solava, Urbana (H.S.), 6-7, 6-3, 11-9

Tigers win home tennis opener in a dominating fashion

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

URBANA - Luke Pankau hits a forehand shot over the net during his doubles match with partner Ian Peters at #2 doubles on Tuesday. The duo battled back from a 6-1 first set loss to take the second set against Normal West's Brian Bach and Alex Lamboley 7-5, forcing a third-set tiebreak. The pair came up short in the breaker falling in 12-10 thriller on the newly resurfaced courts at Blair Park. The Tigers varsity squad dominated the visiting Wildcats in their home opener, 6-3.

5 Reason why you want take up tennis

If you love tennis, then Champaign-Urbana is a great community to live in. With over 120 courts available,...

Illinois tennis home matches this season

The Illini are at home again on Friday, April 14, at 6pm against the Wisconsin Badgers and face Nebraska for Senior Day on Sunday, April 16,...

More Sentinel Stories

Viewpoint |

Nearly half of older Americans can’t even afford basic needs

I worked hard my whole career and retired feeling secure. Then I lost every last dime in a scam. I was left with $1,300 a month in Social Security benefits to live on in an area where monthly expenses run about $3,700.

I’m a smart woman, but scams against older Americans are increasing in number and sophistication. Whether through scams, strained savings, or costs of living going up, half of older Americans — that’s 27 million households — can’t afford their basic needs.