CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Freshman Adam Jilly heads to the ITA Central Sectional Championships in the Fighting Illini's final NCAA qualifier of the fall. Jilly will take part in singles play, with the event set to run Nov. 6-9 at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Jilly made his collegiate debut at the Hope College RSM Invite, posting a 3-0 singles record at the competition before taking part in the ITA Midwest Regional in Chicago. The Hungary native picked up his first career ranked win en route to a trip to the quarterfinals, marking his most recent collegiate action.
Jilly will begin his time at the ITA Central Sectional on Thursday with a first-round matchup against Ohio State's Nikita Filin.
The single-elimination tournament is one of four events that will serve as pathways into the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, scheduled for Nov. 18-23 in Orlando, Florida. Six singles players from the ITA Central Sectional – the four semifinalists and two quarterfinal playoff winners – will earn a spot in the national competition later this month.
This weekend's tournament features 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams across four days of action. The field includes student-athletes from Arkansas, Baylor, Illinois, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, and Tulsa.
Jilly will look to become the second Illinois men's tennis student-athlete to progress to the NCAA Singles Championship after Kenta Miyoshi did so via his performance at the ITA All-American Championships in September.
