June 30, 2009

WINNETKA, Ill. - Five players with Illini connections are set for action at the Nielsen USTA Pro Tennis Championship in Winnetka, Ill., this week. Current Illini Dennis Nevolo, along with former Illini standouts Ryler DeHeart, GD Jones, Rajeev Ram and Ryan Rowe will participate in main draw action at the hard court Challenger. Main draw play runs from June 30-July 5.

Sophomore-to-be Dennis Nevolo was granted a wild card into the main draw of the Winnetka Challenger and faces qualifer Alex Kuznetsov (USA) in the first round. Match time is to be determined.

In the singles main draw, DeHeart takes on No. 1-seed John Isner (USA) in the first round. DeHeart is currently ranked 230th in the world, while Isner is ranked 97th in the latest ATP rankings. Match time has not yet been determined. In doubles, DeHeart teams up with Izak Van Der Merwe of South Africa. The duo faces the No.1-seed tandem of Carsten Ball and Travis Rettenmaier in the opening round. The first round doubles match is the third match on court 5 with an 11 am local time start today.

Jones, who battled his way through qualifying to advance to the main draw, faces Samuel Groth in the opening round. Match time has not yet been determined. In doubles, Jones is partnered up with fellow former Illini Ryan Rowe. Jones and Rowe take on Juan-Manuel Elizondo (MEX) and John Paul Fruttero (USA) in the opening round of the doubles main draw. The doubles match is the third match on court 6 with an 11 am local time start today.

Ram, coming off a main draw appearance at Wimbledon, faces Alex Bogomolov Jr. (USA) in the first round of the Challenger. Ram, the No. 5 seed, is currently ranked 160th in the latest ATP rankings. The Ram/Bogomolov match is the sixth match on the stadium court later this evening.

Last year, Ram captured the Singles Title at the Winnetka Challenger, battling through the main draw with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 6-seed Scoville Jenkins in the finals.

For continued results and recaps of former and current Illinois tennis players on the professional tour, visit fightingillini.com or atptennis.com for more information throughout the summer months.