No. 36 Illinois Trips Men's Tennis, 4-1

Sunday, February 22

Urbana, Ill.

1 p.m. ET

North Carolina

#36 Illinois

Roan Jones won Carolina's lone singles match of the day.

Photo by: Illinois Fighting Illini

February 22, 2026 | Men's Tennis

By: Matt Bowers

URBANA, ILL.—Thirty-sixth-ranked Illinois won the doubles point and went on to defeat North Carolina, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon at the Atkins Tennis Center.

Illinois improved to 5-3 with the win. Carolina saw its four-match winning streak come to an end, as it fell to 7-3 in its final non-conference match of the season.

Up Next
The Tar Heels will open Atlantic Coast Conference play at home when they host Stanford and Cal on Friday and Sunday, respectively, next weekend.

How it Happened — Doubles
• The Fighting Illinois won the day's first doubles match at No. 2 when Kenta Miyoshi and William Mroz topped Roan Jones and Anthony Wright, 6-2.
• The Tar Heels responded with a win at No. 3 doubles by freshmen Ian Mayew and Kase Schinnerer, 6-4, over Zach Viiala and Sasha Colleu.
• In the clinching doubles match, Illinois' Tyler Bowers and Gabriel Debru broke Chris Xu and Nick Mangiapane to take a 5-4 lead at No. 1. The Tar Heel duo returned the favor with a win on a deuce point to tie the score at 5-5, then held serve to take a 6-5 lead. The Illini held serve to force a tiebreaker to decide the doubles point, which they won, 7-4.

How it Happened — Singles
• Debru gave Illinois a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1 to start singles play.
• Jones, ranked #115 in singles, picked up a big, ranked win over #22 Miyoshi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. Jones captured the win with a deuce-point winner to cap the second set to make the score 2-1 Illinois.
• Viiala replied minutes later to put Illinois ahead, 3-1, with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Schinnerer at No. 5 singles.
• William Mroz won the clincher for the Illini, 6-4, 6-4, over Mayew to take the team victory.

#36 Illinois 4, North Carolina 1
Doubles
1. Chris Xu/Nick Mangiapane (UNC) def. Tyler Bowers/Gabriel Debru (Illinois), 7-6 (4)
2. Kenta Miyoshi/William Mroz (Illinois) def. Roan Jones/Anthony Wright (UNC), 6-2
3. Ian Mayew/Kase Schinnerer (UNC) def. Zach Viiala/Sasha Colleu (Illinois), 6-4
(order of finish: 2, 3, 1)

Singles
1. Gabriel Debru (Illinois) def. Chris Xu (UNC), 6-2, 6-2
2. #115 Roan Jones (UNC) def. #22 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-4, 6-2
3. William Mroz (Illinois) def. #87 Ian Mayew (UNC), 6-4, 6-4 (clinch)
4. Constantinos Djakouris (UNC) led Sasha Colleu (Illinois), 6-4, 3-2 (unfinished)
5. Zach Viiala (Illinois) def. Kase Schinnerer (UNC), 6-3, 6-2
6. Anthony Wright (UNC) led Jeremy Zhang (Illinois), 6-4, 4-2 (unfinished)
(order of finish: 1, 2, 5, 3)

Follow Tar Heel tennis on Twitter or Instagram.