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May 2, 2007

In the fifth edition of the Illini Big Ten Journal, sophomore Marc Spicijaric wraps up the Illini's runner-up finish at Big Tens.

Hey Illini fans, this past weekend ended with a disappointing result, but our heads are held high and we are confident going into the last couple weeks of our season. We had a great match against Purdue, coming out really strong and taking care of business. GD and I had a solid match in doubles, I came out firing in singles to win easily and the rest of the team did their part to put in a full team effort.

We had a relaxing day after that and got some rest for our battle against Michigan, who beat us during the regular season. Rowe and Kevin came out of the gates really fast in doubles, destroying their opponents, while Brandon and Ruben and GD and I took care of business as well. We had an absolute battle in singles. Brandon avenged his loss against Steven Peretz, which was a great win for BD. GD pulled out an amazing three-set win, serving underhanded, and Rowe had match points in the second but lost that set before coming out really strong in the third to take care of his opponent.

In the finals, Ohio State showed they were a really tough team, but we also showed that we were not far behind. They are a very poor doubles team, but we just lowered our levels and competed with them at their level instead of stepping up. We lost 4-1, GD and I, but were winning in the two other matches before Ohio State won at No. 1. Kevin won his singles match in the loss, so we know if we take care of the doubles point we can take it to them if we meet in the NCAA tournament.

Well, that wraps up the Big Ten Tournament, but it's hard to not look back and see all that we have been through this season.

This year has been a rough year dealing with injuries. Sasha has back problems and Ruben sat out six weeks injured as well. GD has a sore shoulder now and has been battling a hip injury for a while now. Overall, we have done pretty well with what we have been dealt, but could have obviously done better. We are a very strong team and are headed on the right path, even with our injuries.

This team is just a family true-and-true. We heckle each other nonstop, but when it comes down to competing, we are there for each other no matter what. I think our trust in each other on the court has come from our trust and closeness off the court. We are a very tight-nit team and I don't think that many other teams can say they have the relationship with the teammates like we can.

As we move forward, we have to stay on the right path. Right now, that is getting our schoolwork done for the last nine days of school and really going all out in any tennis related activity until regionals. When we play our first regional match, we will be a totally different team mentally and physically. Right now, we feel like we have a chip on our shoulder and everyone is counting Illinois tennis out of a chance to win a NCAA title, but we are ready to prove all our criticizers wrong.

Well fans, next week we host the first and second rounds, so come out and enjoy some great college tennis on Friday and Saturday, May 11-12. Illinois will play Western Michigan at 3 p.m. on Friday, with the winner advancing to Saturday's regional final at 1 p.m.

Until next time,

Marc "Mr. Clutch" Spicijaric