Oct. 25, 2007

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Freshmen Connor Roth and Abe Souza of the Illinois men's tennis team are set to begin action at the 2007 Crimson Tide Fall Championships hosted in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Oct. 26-28. The event pits over 100 competitors from 20 different teams from around the country into singles and doubles brackets, with the format of the tournament including seven draws of 16 athletes for singles and four draws of 16 in doubles, with matches spread out across the UA Varsity Courts, UA Rec Courts and the Hank Crisp Indoor Courts.

The Illini freshmen will open play in the singles bracket on Friday, while they also will join forces for doubles action as well. The tournament participants include athletes from host Alabama (NCAA Sweet Sixteen), Illinois (NCAA Finalist), North Carolina State (NCAA Elite Eight), Ole Miss (NCAA Sweet Sixteen), Pepperdine (2006 NCAA Champion), Virginia (NCAA Semifinalists), Alabama-Birmingham, Auburn-Montgomery, Clemson, Jacksonville State, Jacksonville University, Kentucky, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Mississippi State, Radford, Samford, South Alabama, Southern Mississippi, Tennessee, Tennessee-Martin, Troy and Virginia Tech.

"Abe and I have been looking forward to playing doubles together after getting a taste of that in Florida," Roth said about the weekend's opportunity. "Heading into the weekend, Abe and I are just going to work on the little things in our games to improve on. I know in practice I have been focusing on the feedback that I have been getting from the coaches about my play so far this season. I will be looking to improve on my return of serve and try to execute more aggressive movements around the court. I know the last few practices have been going well for me. Since I didn't get to play regionals, I am looking forward to getting back on the court."

The tournament schedule opens with the first round of singles on Friday, followed by the first and second rounds of doubles. On Saturday, players will pick up with the second and third rounds of singles followed by the third round of doubles, while Sunday's play includes the final round of both singles and doubles. Action begins at 9 a.m. on all three days.

"I think we are more focused on our end of the game instead of our opponents this weekend," Roth said. "We are always looking to improve. Even if we lose, we are looking to take something away from every match and just get better."

On the year, Roth is 6-7 overall in singles and 3-2 in doubles - 2-1 with partner Souza. Souza, on the other hand, has a team leading eight wins in singles and is 8-6 overall, while he boasts a 2-3 record in doubles. So far in the young Illinois campaign, Roth's best results came in his opening weekend at the Olympia Fields CC/Fighting Illini Invitational, where he stormed out to a 3-1 record on the year, while Souza's top performance came at the Louisville Invitational, where he battled into the semifinals of Flight A.

Fans can follow updated brackets throughout the tournament at the University of Alabama web site, www.rolltide.com, while a full recap of the Illini's weekend action can be found at the official Illinois athletics web site, www.fightingillini.com.

CRIMSON TIDE FALL CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
First Round - Singles (9 a.m.)
First & Second Round - Doubles (To Follow)

SUNDAY
Final Round - Singles (9 a.m.)
Final Round - Doubles (To Follow)