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.

Tennessee ranks as the most effective and efficient defense in the country, per KenPom. There isn’t an offense this season the Volunteers haven’t been able to handle. For a few examples, Rick Barnes‘ team held Florida to 12 points under its season average,

Tennessee has a penchant for fouling 3-point shooters at a seemingly high rate, especially for a team that relies on senior guards. It committed a season-high three fouls on 3-point shooters at Illinois in December, with two by Mashack. Zeigler had one ...

Tennessee will host Michigan on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in the ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match. The Vols and the No. 25 Wolverines will have a lot on the line for this match, which includes a spot into the Indoor National Championships later this season.

Thursday's OVC slate includes the Tennessee State Tigers (9-12, 5-5 OVC) meeting the Western Illinois Leathernecks (8-12, 2-7 OVC) at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN+. Advertisement Article continues below ...

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.

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 ...

Percentages: FG .393, FT .650. 3-Point Goals: 4-16, .250 (Jacobi 2-4, Fruster 2-5, Connor 0-1, Curtis 0-1, Sawyer 0-1, Stapleton 0-1, Shelton 0-3). Team Rebounds: 6 ...

The Green Bay Packers are hiring long-time New England Patriots assistant coach DeMarcus Covington as the team’s new defensive line coach, per ESPN.

Less than a week after taking over as USC’s general manager, Chad Bowden has made a move sure to send reverberations throughout the Big Ten Conference. Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that Bowden is snagging Illinois director of player personnel Dre Brown into an executive role in Lincoln Riley’s USC Trojans organization.

Sure, the win at Kansas is really the only marquee victory Houston has so far this season, but a 13-game winning streak with 11 double-digit wins over that stretch earns Kelvin Sampson's team a place in the top tier of the sport.