Feb. 8, 2007

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The No. 6 Illinois men's tennis team looks ahead to pair of challenges when it hosts No. 20 Texas A&M (4-0) on Saturday, Feb. 10, and No. 7 Florida (3-0) on Tuesday, Feb. 13, with both matches set for a 6 p.m. start. The Illini will use the matches as preparation for the 2007 USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship that they will host on Friday-Monday, Feb. 16-19 at Midtown Tennis Center in Chicago. The A&M and Gator matches also promise to be a great atmosphere for fans, as multiple give-a-ways and promotions are planned for the upcoming contests.

The weekend also will give Illini fans a chance to show their spirit, as the Illinois marketing department is offering two fans a $100 cash prize for wearing the best Illini costume at the A&M match Saturday, while Tuesday's match is represent your residence hall night, with the residence hall floor with the best attendance receiving a prize at the Florida match (Must have at least 20 people from the floor present to be eligible). Also on Tuesday, Net Nuts members are encouraged to bring a buddy, as the first 50 members to come in the door with a friend will receive a prize.

Full recaps of the Illini's contests against the Aggies and the Gators can be found on fightingillini.com following the end of the match. Fans also can follow the action through live scoring available on the men's tennis schedule page.

STATE OF THE ILLINI
The Illini men's tennis team is looking to continue in its winning ways, as they are coming off a victorious weekend, downing No. 8 Duke on Friday, Feb. 2, 6-1, before taking down No. 41 Tennessee 4-3 on Saturday, Feb. 3. Illinois is nearing the end of one of the toughest opening schedules in the nation, featuring seven teams ranked in the top 100, four in the top 10. With the daunting challenge, the Illini still boast a 4-1 overall record heading into their final two matches before the 2007 USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship which will be hosted by Illinois at the Midtown Tennis Center in Chicago. Illinois also will have their hands full against Florida and Texas A&M, as they take on a pair of unbeatens.

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS
The Illini men's tennis program has been known for its success for much of its existence at the University of Illinois. That success included the sweep of the NCAA championships in 2003, bringing home Illinois' first national team title, first NCAA singles title (Amer Delic) and the second NCAA doubles title (Brian Wilson and Rajeev Ram) in the history of the program. With all of the success in the books, the 2007 season marks the Celebration of 100 years of men's tennis at the U of I. Along with the celebration, the Illini program will be honoring a 16-member All-Century Team to be honored at the March 31 Northwestern match at noon at the Atkins Tennis Center. Along with the festivities, the 1946 Big Ten Championship team also will be celebrating its 60th anniversary since capturing the conference crown.

Illinois fans are encouraged to help the Illini celebrate this momentous season by continuing their support of the squad by attending all of Illinois' home matches, cheering the Orange and Blue onto victory as they look to continue to make the Atkins Tennis Center one of the most intimidating places to play in college tennis.

2007 USTA/ITA NATIONAL MEN'S TEAM INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Illinois will once again host the USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship at the prestigious Midtown Tennis Club in downtown Chicago on Friday-Monday, Feb. 16-19. The event pits the top-16 teams in the nation, all contending for the 2007 National Indoor title. Illinois last won the crown in 2004. For tournament information, visit www.nationalteamindoors.com, or call the Illinois Athletics Ticket Office at (866) ILLINI-1 to order your tickets.

WELCOME HOME
The home of the Illini is one of the best facilities to watch collegiate tennis in the entire country. It also has been a hard place for opposing teams to claim a victory, as the Illini have posted a 141-28 (.834) record on its home court since moving to the facility in 1992. Overall, the Fighting Illini have been almost unbeatable at home, carding an overall record of 325-113 (.759). Entering this weekend, the squad is looking to build on its seven-match winning streak at home, which dates back to April 8, 2006.

MEETING ON DIFFERENT TERMS
The match against Texas A&M brings two old friends back together, as freshman Sasha Kharkevitch welcomes a past teammate and fellow pupil under head coach Joey Blake in freshman Connor Pollock of A&M to the Atkins Tennis Center. The two players both played under Blake during their tennis careers in Texas before being recruited by their respective colleges. Pollock has seen most of his time at the No. 2 slot for the Aggies, while Kharkevitch has still be nursing an injury and has yet to play in a dual match this season.

FRIEND OR FOE
Junior Brandon Davis, a Austin, Texas native, could possible meet up with an familiar opponent this weekend as the Illini square off against Texas A&M. Junior Matt Bain of A&M, who used to be a former tennis pupil of Davis' father, Doug, during their junior days in the Lone Star state, has played most of his dual matches in the No. 5 singles spot, while Davis has played all of his contests in the No. 6 spot. The two could possibly meet on the court depending on lineups, but one thing is for certain, the two former Texas' junior rivals will be looking to get the better of their opponent come Saturday.

A CLOSER LOOK AT A&M
The Illini post the biggest challenge to date for Texas A&M (4-0), as the Aggies have yet to face a ranked opponent on the season, and will be doing so in their first road match of the year. The home-tested Aggies have faced only one opponent from the Big Ten this season in Michigan State, easily handing the Spartans 7-0 to open their dual match campaign. In their last outing, A&M downed Texas-Arlington 6-1 at home on Saturday, Feb. 3.

Illinois is 6-4 overall against the Aggies, with A&M having the last word in the two team's last matchup on March 12, 2006 in College Station, Texas, as Illinois fell 4-1 for only their third loss of the 2005-06 campaign. The loss came just two days after a tough letdown at the hands of the Texas Longhorns (4-3) on March 10.

Texas A&M is coached by first year head coach, U.S Open Doubles Champion and former All-American Steve Denton. Denton, who is known widely throughout the tennis community, was once ranked as high as No. 11 in the world in singles and No. 2 in the world in doubles in 1982. Leading the Aggies on the court is Jerry Makowski who fills the No. 1 singles slot with a 5-6 overall and 1-1 record in the top slot, while Connor Pollock is 10-4 and has a 2-0 ledger at the No. 1 singles spot. In doubles, the duo of Bryan Wooten and Mike Beatty (No. 44) paces the Aggies with an overall record of 6-0 on the season and 1-0 at the No. 1 doubles position.

IT'S GATOR TIME!
Illinois will be looking to continue on its rampage through some of the nation's best when the Florida Gators come to town on Tuesday. Illinois is 3-1 against ranked opponents, and 2-1 against the nation's top 10. Florida (3-0) comes to town with a talented lineup and is fresh off a home victory against then No. 2 Baylor, 4-3, on Sunday, Feb. 4. The Gators took out one of the toughest teams in the nation in their last outing, but are facing their first road test of the season when the roll into the Atkins Tennis Center for their matchup against the Illini.

Florida is looking to shake off pair of tough losses at the hands of the Illinois in their last two meetings, as the Illini came away with a win on March 21, 2006 against then No. 8 Florida in Gainesville, 5-2, while before that, Illinois pounded then the No. 5 Gators 7-0 at home on Feb. 12, 2005. Illinois is 7-4 overall against Florida.

The Gators are coached by sixth year head coach Andy Jackson, who has turned the program around from a 9-17 overall record the year previous to his arrival, and has made the Gators one of the nation's best and the Southeastern Conference's top teams year-in and year-out. On the court, headlining singles action is one of the most talented freshmen in the country in Jesse Levine, who is 2-0 on the young season. In doubles, Florida brings the duo of Levine and Greg Ouellette as their top doubles threat with a 2-0 overall record on the season together, while Ouellette has yet to drop a doubles tilt all year long.

TAKING IT TO THE PROS
Illinois' Kevin Anderson and Florida's Jesse Levine are two of the top talents in the collegiate game in 2007, but also are undoubtedly two of the two up-and-coming professionals on the ATP tour. Both student-athletes used most of the fall to play in tour events, honing their skills in the professional ranks. Between the two, both are ranked in the top-600 in the world, with Levine coming in at No. 383, and Anderson topping off at No. 517, fifth highest in his native country of South Africa.

TOP HEAVY
Against Baylor, Florida used the strength of its singles No. 1-3 and top doubles tandems to overcome the Bears in a dominating 4-3 home victory. Combined, the Gators dropped a total of 13 games in their top-three singles matches against Baylor, and will be looking to do the same against Illinois with the lineup of Jesse Levine, No. 16 Greg Ouellette and No. 60 Nestor Briceno. For Illinois, the brute of their strength also is housed in the top part of their order, featuring No. 11 Ryan Rowe, No. 23 Kevin Anderson and Ruben Gonzales. The matchup will pair two of the nation's early frontrunners for the NCAA team title as the two face off for the fifth consecutive season.