Belmont men’s tennis stars Hendrik Inno and Marko Ilic won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Ohio Valley Regional Doubles for the first time in Belmont tennis history on Monday.
Inno and Ilic defeated Timo Stodder and Preston Touliatos of University of Tennessee 6-4, 6-4 in the finals.
This was also the first time in Belmont history that a men’s tennis doubles team even advanced to the finals.
In the tournament quarterfinals, Inno and Ilic got Belmont men’s tennis’ first ever win against a nationally-ranked singles or doubles team, beating Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe from Vanderbilt, who are ranked No. 4 in the country.
The Belmont duo then beat Butler’s Aviv Ben Shabat and Mason Dragos in the semifinal to qualify for the finals.
“To be able to do what Hendrik and Marko have done this weekend takes a lot of courage, determination and heart. I am so proud of their effort and their accomplishment,” said head coach Mauricio Antun in a statement.
Inno and Ilic are no strangers to achievements like this. The men’s tennis team won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship last season.
Inno also won last year’s OVC Player of the Year and competed in the Oracle ITA Masters in Malibu, California in September.
The Bruin duo will compete in the ITA Fall National Championship in Arizona in November.
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Photo by Mauricio Antun, courtesy of Belmont Athletics