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April 19, 2007

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The No. 11 Illinois men's tennis team will close out its Big Ten regular season this weekend as it hosts No. 34 Minnesota on Saturday, April 21, before welcoming Iowa on Sunday, April 22, both match starting at noon at the Atkins Tennis Center. The Illini (14-7, 6-2) look to put a 12-match home win streak, dating back to April 2006, on the line against the Golden Gophers (4-4 Big Ten), who own the exact same season record as Illinois, 14-7, and then against the Hawkeyes (7-11, 0-8 Big Ten), who are still hungry for their first conference victory of the year.

"Coming off a tough weekend last week, we just have to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and get ready for the end of the season," head coach Brad Dancer said. "For lack of better words, we have to get back on the horse and finish strong."

On Saturday, Advantage Illini, the official booster club of Illinois tennis, will be hosting a free cookout for all fans in attendance, while Sunday's match against the Hawkeyes will serve as Senior Day, as the Illini honor lone senior GD Jones during a ceremony between doubles and singles.

A full recap of the Illini's matches this weekend can be found at www.fightingillini.com, following the conclusion of each match.

LAST TIME OUT
The No. 9 Illinois men's tennis team cruised past No. 66 Indiana, 5-2, on Saturday to open the Big Ten road weekend. Illinois improved to a perfect 10-0 over the Hoosiers, dating back to 1997. Illinois handed IU only its third loss of the season at home as it came into the match 11-2 on its home surface. In the end, Indiana did not have the winning recipe on the courts as junior Brandon Davis and sophomore Marc Spicijaric's spirited efforts helped lead the Illini to the conference road win.

In doubles, senior GD Jones and Spicijaric opened the match off strong for Illinois, as they stomped David Bubenicek and Mak Kendall (IND), 8-3, to improve to a team-leading 14-5 on the season, while notching their fifth straight win. Closely following, the 10th-ranked doubles tandem of juniors Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe (ILL) handed Dara McLoughlin and Thomas Richter (IND) an 8-5 setback to tally their 11th-straight win of the season and improve to 13-2 on the year. Completing the sweep, and most recently reunited after a month-long injury took junior Ruben Gonzales from the lineup, Davis and Gonzales carded an 8-7(4) victory over Peter Antons and Arnaud Roussel (IND) at No. 3.

In singles, Spicijaric (ILL) wasted no time in padding the Illini's lead as he took care of Roussel (IND) 6-2, 6-1 on court four, while Davis (ILL) recorded a quick 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles to give the Illini a 3-0 lead. No. 15-ranked Rowe (ILL) followed with the sealing win, shutting the door on any Hoosier comeback, as he clinched the dual victory when he ended Bubenicek's four-match win streak, upending the Hoosier 6-4, 6-4, on court two. Placing the finishing touches on the Illini's 5-2 road win was No. 5-ranked Anderson, who registered his fourth straight victory after defeating Richter 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

The team, however, concluded the weekend with a hard loss at the hands of No. 3 Ohio State on Sunday, falling 7-0 on the road. Despite tough and hard-fought battles from each of the Illini in the lineup, the Buckeyes had the last word as junior Brandon Davis was the lone Orange and Blue netter to take a set from his OSU opponent. After the weekend, Illinois stands at 14-7 overall and 6-2 in conference action.

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 year-long celebration, the Illini program honored a 16-member All-Century Team at the March 31 Northwestern match. Along with the festivities, the 1946 Big Ten Championship team also will be celebrating its 60th anniversary since capturing the conference crown.

On hand for the 100 years celebration were All-Century Team members Ryler DeHeart, Cary Franklin, Jeff Laski, honorary team captain Chris Martin, Phil Stolt and Brian Wilson. Honored in between doubles and singles, the team represents a long-line of tennis history at the U of I and were welcomed home by Illini alumni and fans with a warm ovation.

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE HAWKEYES
Iowa (7-11, 0-8) comes into the final weekend of the regular season looking for their first conference win of the season against either Purdue on Saturday or Illinois on Sunday.

Barts van Monsjou and J.P. Ritchee lead the Hawkeyes in singles, as well as teaming together to be the Hawkeyes most dangerous doubles tandem this season. Over the past weekend, Iowa suffered a 7-0 defeat to Wisconsin, as well as a 5-2 loss at the hands of Northwestern.

DIGGING DEEP INTO THE GOPHERS
No. 34 Minnesota (14-7, 4-4) comes to Champaign looking to get above the .500 mark in conference play. Last weekend, the Golden Gophers defeated Northwestern by a margin of 6-1, before dropping a match 5-2 to Wisconsin.

Leading the Gophers in the No. 1 singles slot is the No. 73-ranked Raoul Schwark. The tandem of Nich Edlefsen and Sion Wilkins are the Gopher's No. 1 doubles pair on the season and look to challenge the tandem of Juniors Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe, who are ranked ninth in the latest ITA poll.

NEXT UP
Illinois will head to West Lafayette, Ind., to take part in the 2007 Big Ten Championships on the campus of Purdue University on April 26-29. The Illini will be looking to take back the conference title after losing it for the first time since 2001 to now defending champions, Ohio State, in last year's tightly contested conference finals.