Michael James has been as hot as any player in the Big Ten since the start of the new year, but on Sunday, he ran into an Illinois roadblock.

James, the Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Week for the second time in three weeks, brought a 10-match winning streak into his bout with No. 5 Kevin Anderson. Despite James' recent play, Anderson was able to hold him off in a gritty, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Early on, it looked like James (No. 102 in the nation) might be able to extend his streak in front of a partial Nittany Lion crowd. With his victory in the first set, James was fired up, and the crowd was buzzing over the possibility of an upset over a player ranked almost 100 spots higher.

"I broke him early in the first set, and that was big," James said. "I knew I had a chance against him for the rest of the match."

Anderson, the 6-foot, 7-inch South African, answered back in the second set. The players each held serve at 4, when Anderson was able to break James's serve to win the set, 6-4. James had an opportunity to break serve early in the second, but Anderson came up with a powerful ace before eventually taking the game.

In the third set, the two athletes put on a showcase of great tennis for those in attendance. James jumped out to a 3-1, lead after breaking his opponent early, but the lead did not last for long. Anderson then reeled off four straight games and was serving for the match at 5-3.

"Michael got up a service break in the third and was playing well," Penn State head coach Todd Doebler said. "Their guy took it to another level and put Michael on the defensive."

With the match on the line and the momentum shifted, James had to dig deep and pull out a break against Anderson's powerful service game. With the chance to pull even, James was unable to capitalize and was broken in the last game of the match. The voices of the few Illinois fans in attendance took over the quieted Lions.

"I had an opportunity when I was up 3-1, but he came up with some big shots," James said. "I knew he was going to make me earn it and he broke me in a close match to win it at the end."

James was upset with loss, but said he could take some positives away from such a tight match with one of the country's best

"I can use it [the match] to know that I can play with anybody," James said. "He is really good, and he has beat a lot of good people this year."

Despite snapping his winning streak, James (14-3, 5-2) remains one of the Big Ten's best singles players.

Doebler said that Sunday's result indicated that more success is ahead in the future.

"Their guy, Kevin Anderson, is No. 5 in the country, and there's a reason for that," Doebler said. "It really shows how far Michael's come. Hopefully, he continues in the right direction because he can still continue to do special things for us this year."