The No. 10 Illinois men's tennis team ended its amazing run in the 2007 NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 loss to top-ranked, unbeaten Georgia, Tuesday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. The Illini (23-9) defeated No. 7 Mississippi, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Baylor before falling to the tournament-hosting Bulldogs (32-0). Illinois' Ryan Rowe and Marc Spicijaric earned NCAA All-Tournament honors for their performances in the championships.

The Bulldogs got on the board early with the doubles point, winning at No. 2 and 3. Georgia had relinquished the point only once this season. With only three singles matches needed to win the title, the team got to work winning 4-of-6 first sets. The Illini fell at No. 5, 1 and 4 to give Georgia its fifth overall NCAA team title.

The Illini nation was in full force today as around 100 Orange and Blue fans warmed the seats of the Henry Field Tennis Court stands to cheer on the Illini.

From the first serve, it was evident that the Illini came to play as they forced an hour-long doubles session.

No. 8 juniors Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe (ILL) were giving the top-ranked duo of John Isner and Luis Flores (UGA) a tough match on court one, as the two had glimpses of break chances in the early goings and were untouched on their serve, leading 6-5.

At No. 2 doubles, juniors Brandon Davis and Ruben Gonzales (ILL) were holding their own against the No. 16-ranked pair of Travis Helgeson and Matic Omerzel (UGA), as that match was on serve at 5-all. Rounding out the doubles action at that point, senior GD Jones and sophomore Marc Spicijaric (ILL) dropped their first service game to Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg (UGA) to allow the Georgia pair to level the match at 5-all.

In a match where both teams were broken twice, Jones and Spicijaric (ILL) again dropped their serve at 8-7, handing the Bulldogs their first doubles-match win of the afternoon. On court one, Anderson and Rowe (ILL) were still cruising through service games, looking in full control as they held at love to go up 8-7. However, the effort was not enough as Gonzales and Jones (ILL) dropped their first service game of the match to give UGA a 7-5 lead before the Georgia pair took full advantage en route to holding their serve to clinch the match, 8-6, and the doubles point for the Bulldogs.

Illinois was down a point, 1-0, but not out, as they were in a familiar position after defeating both No. 7 Mississippi and No. 2 Ohio State after dropping the pivotal double point. Looking at the same odds in those matches, the Illini were facing a Bulldog squad that was 29-0 when winning the pairs portion of the dual.

Heading into singles, the Bulldogs continued to hold the Illini at bay, taking first sets on four courts and needing only three dual-match wins to earn the title.

With the first singles match finished, Georgia took a 2-0 lead as Schnugg (UGA) defeated Jones (ILL), 6-4, 6-1.

At court one, Anderson (ILL) had trouble finding his swing in the fiery wind, losing the first set quick, 6-1. In the second, the Illini junior returned to form, as he held serve and looked at two break points on Isner's (UGA) serve before the top-ranked 6-9 athlete from Georgia forced a tiebreaker which he won 7-1. Isner's win gave UGA a 3-0 lead.

Moments later, 35th-ranked Matic Omerzel put away Illinois' Ruben Gonzales at No. 4 singles. Gonzales put together a hard-fought first set, taking Omerzel to but falling in the tiebreaker. The Tournament MVP was too tough for Gonzales in the second set as the title-clinching set went to Omerzel 6-1.

Three singles went unfinished on the day. On court two, playing a tight set through most of the opening points, 22nd-ranked Rowe (ILL) topped No. 14 Luis Flores, 7-6 (6) in the first set and was leading 4-2 in the second before it was discontinued. Freshman Billy Heiser, playing in just his third match of the season, won his first set 6-4, but dropped his second, 6-3 and was down 2-1 when the Bulldogs clinched.

The fourth suspended match came at No. 3 singles, where unranked Spicijaric was giving 12th-ranked Helgeson a run for his money. Helgeson won the first set 7-6 (4) and was up 4-2 in the second.
TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
NCAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALS
ATHENS, GA - 5/22/07
#1 GEORGIA (32-0) 4, #10 ILLINOIS (23-9) 0

Singles Competition
1. #1John Isner (UGA) def. #5 Kevin Anderson (ILL), 6-1, 7-6 (1)
2. #22 Ryan Rowe (ILL) vs. #14 Luis Flores (UGA), 7-6 (6), 4-2 unfinished
3. #12 Travis Helgeson (UGA) vs. Marc Spicijaric (ILL), 7-6 (4), 4-2 unfinished
4. #35 Matic Omerzel (UGA) def. Ruben Gonzales (ILL), 6-4, 6-1
5. Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. GD Jones (ILL), 6-4, 6-1
6. Billy Heiser (ILL) vs. Jamie Hunt (UGA), 6-4, 3-6, 1-2 unfinished
Order of finish: Singles (5, 1, 4)

Doubles Competition
1. #1 John Isner/Luis Flores (UGA) vs. #8 Kevin Anderson/Ryan Rowe (ILL) 7-8, unfinished
2. #16 Travis Helgeson/Matic Omerzel (UGA) def. Brandon Davis/Ruben Gonzales (ILL) 8-6
3. Nate Schnugg/Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. GD Jones/Marc Spicijaric (ILL) 9-7
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2)

-ILLINI-