LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Toledo men's tennis team's season came to an end on Friday after a hard-fought 4-1 loss to Illinois in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship at the University of Kentucky's Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center.

Toledo (14-11) ended the 2024 season after winning back-to-back MAC Tournament titles and making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

"Incredible effort," head coach Al Wermer said after the match. "We pushed Illinois all the way today. It was a great match to be part of. We told the guys to go out and leave it all out there, and that's what they did. I'm so proud of the way they responded to adversity all season."

Illinois took a 1-0 match lead after winning the doubles point with victories at the No. 3 and No. 2 courts. UT's No.1 doubles team of Pawit Sornlaksup and Marko Galic tied their match at 4-4 against the No.12 duo in the country, Hunter Heck and Karlis Ozolins, before the match was ruled unfinished.

Illinois' William Mroz won the No. 4 spot and Olivero Okonkwo won the No. 2 singles courts, with both first sets decided by tiebreakers, to take a 3-0 lead in the match. Junior Hanamichi Carvajal was down 4-2 in the first set to Mathis Debru and fought back to win 7-6(8) and took the second set 7-6(7) to get Toledo on the board, 3-1.

MAC Player of the Year Pawit Sornlaksup won his opening set 7-5, fell in the second set to No.95 ranked Kenta Miyoshi 6-2, and battled through injury to give everything he could before falling 6-4 in the third set to end the Rockets' time in the tournament.

Freshman Poonthong Komolpisut had just won his opening set 6-4 over Jeremy Zhang from the No.5 court and sophomore Matias Olivero led 4-3 to Lucas Horve in the first set at the No.6 spot before both matches were ruled unfinished. The start times at the No.5 and No.6 courts were delayed because inclement weather moved the match indoors, which only has four courts. 

Illinois advances to the second round to face the winner of the DePaul - No.5 seed Kentucky match tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. for a chance to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals. The Blue Devils and Wildcats went head-to-head in the second match played on Friday.

Sornlaksup will continue his postseason as an individual in the 2024 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship on May 20-25 in Stillwater, Okla.

2024 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship
Lexington, Ky. | Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center
First Round

Illinois 4, Toledo 1
Singles
1. #95 Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) def. #65 Pawit Sornlaksup (TOL) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
2. Olivero Okonkwo (ILL) def. Marko Galic (TOL) 7-6(6), 6-3
3. Hanamichi Carvajal (TOL) def. Mathis Debru (ILL) 7-6(6), 7-6(7)
4. William Mroz (ILL) def. Adam Kovac (TOL) 7-6(4), 6-1
5. Poonthong Komolpisut (TOL) vs. Jeremy Zhang (ILL) 6-4, 0-0 unfinished
6. Matias Olivero (TOL) vs. Lucas Horve (ILL) 4-3, unfinished

Doubles
1. Pawit Sornlaksup / Marko Galic (TOL) vs. #12 Hunter Heck/ Karlis Ozolins (ILL) 4-4, unfinished
2. #48 Lucas Horve/ Olivero Okonkwo (ILL) def. Poonthong Komolpisut/ Hanamichi Carvajal (TOL) 6-2
3. Mathis Debru/ Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) def. Adam Kovac/ Charlie Snow (TOL) 6-1