KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The No. 14 Tennessee men’s tennis team defeated Illinois, 4-2, Saturday afternoon in the opening round of ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Vols dropped the doubles point, but the singles part of the match was filled with some intense competition.

No. 14 Tennessee (4-1) defeated Illinois (0-1), 4-2, on Saturday at Goodfriend Tennis Center in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Alejandro Moreno earned a win for Tennessee with a, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, victory on court five.

The Tennessee State Tigers (9-12, 5-5 OVC) play the Western Illinois Leathernecks (8-13, 2-8 OVC) in a clash of OVC squads at 8:00 PM ET on Thursday. The game airs on ESPN+. Advertisement Article ...

Saturday's OVC slate includes the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (10-11, 5-5 OVC) against the Eastern Illinois Panthers (5-15, 1-8 OVC), at 4:00 PM ET on ESPN+. Advertisement Article continues below ...

BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Illinois aims to end its four-game losing streak with a victory against Tennessee State. The Tigers have gone 5-3 in home games. Tennessee State is 3-2 when it turns the ball ...

Illinois is ranked 18th in the new AP Top 25 poll, released Monday. The Illini (14-6, 6-4 Big Ten) also are 20th in the coaches' poll.

The Vols likely would catapult onto the No. 1 seed line with a win at Auburn, but it would carry weight beyond the immediate effect on bracketology. A win at Auburn would give Tennessee two marquee road wins on its NCAA Tournament profile come Selection Sunday. The other was a 66-64 win at Illinois On dec. 14.

BOTTOM LINE: Tennessee State hosts Eastern Illinois after Aaniya Webb scored 20 points in Tennessee State's 76-70 loss to the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars. The Tigers are 3-3 in home games.

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Tennessee dropped the point in doubles to start the afternoon, but came back to win four points in singles. The Vols saw Jan Kobierski and Alan Jesudason step up when they were down early in doubles, but Tennessee lost two close matches to give Illinois the point.

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