The Illinois College men’s tennis team secured a place in the Midwest Conference postseason tournament with two league victories at the Bellatti Tennis Complex on April 18.
This development is significant as it marks only the second time in program history that Illinois College has qualified for the annual Midwest Conference Tournament, highlighting growth and competitive progress within their athletics program.
The Blueboys defeated Ripon 6-1 in a morning match and followed up with a 5-2 win over Lawrence in the afternoon. With these wins, Illinois College improved its overall record to 12-8 and evened its conference record at 3-3. The team will now compete in the MWC Tournament scheduled for April 24-25 in Madison, Wisconsin.
In doubles play against Ripon, Jeff Wernsing and Adi Basic won at No. 1, Glenn Conway and Dalton Short earned a shutout at No. 2, while Tejas Zala and Andrus Dupre prevailed at No. 3. Singles matches saw dominant performances from Wernsing, Zala, Conway, Andrus Dupre—all winning by identical scores of 6-0, 6-0—and Grayson Dupre who added another victory.
Against Lawrence, Conway and Short took No. 2 doubles with a tiebreak win while Zala and Andrus Dupre secured No. 3 doubles. Singles wins from Wernsing (No.2), Zala (No.3), Conway (No.4), and Andrus Dupre (No.5) clinched both the dual meet victory and tournament qualification.
Illinois College Blue Boys Tennis competes in NCAA Division III and participates in regular-season as well as postseason play within the Midwest Conference according to the official website. The team plays its home matches at Bellatti Tennis Complex in Jacksonville according to the official website.
The program emphasizes student-athlete participation, competitive opportunities, and team spirit according to its official website. As part of collegiate athletics programming according to school sources, this achievement reflects ongoing commitment to athletic excellence on campus.
Looking ahead, Illinois College will travel for a non-conference match against Westminster scheduled for noon tomorrow.
