Oct. 26, 2001

Illinois' men's tennis team started out strong today in the first round of the ITA Omni Hotel Region IV Championships at Michigan State Unversity in East Lansing, Mich. The Illini took five of six singles matches, sending five players to the next round. That was the best showing of any teams competing this weekend. All victories were in straight-sets.

"Everyone played pretty well today," said Head Coach Craig Tiley. "We are among the highest seeded players in the region and we came out and played an aggresive style of tennis today. This is an individual event where players are playing to protect their seeds."

UI sophomore Amer Delic, the top seed, dominated Hunter Skogman of Iowa, 6-3, 6-1, while classmate 16th seeded Michael Calkins took care of Minnesota's Reven Stephens 6-4, 7-5. Senior Mike Kosta, seeded 17th, dispatched Indiana's Zach Held 6-3, 6-4 and 11th seeded sophomore Brian Wilson beat Alex Sivertsen 7-6 (4), 6-2. Also, fourth seeded sophomore Phil Stolt overpowered Northern Illinois' Erick Martinez, 6-1, 6-1. The lone Illini loss came when Northwestern's Thomas Hanus defeated freshmen Chris Martin, seeded 23rd, 6-2, 7-5.

"We proved that ours are the players to beat in the region. We have some tough matches ahead of us and we hope to maintain the success we've had," Tiley said.

On Saturday three Illinois doubles teams will compete in the second round after receiving first round byes. They will be joined by the five singles players. All match results can be found at www.msuspartans.com

Today's Illinois Results

Singles

Amer Delic (ILL) def. Hunter Skogman (Iowa)        6-3, 6-1
Mike Kosta (ILL) def. Zach Held (IND)              6-3, 6-4
Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Reven Stephens (MINN)   6-4, 7-5
Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Erick Martinez (NIU)         6-1, 6-1
Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Alex Sivertsen (LOUIS)     7-6 (4), 6-2
Thomas Hanus (NU) def. Chris Martin (ILL)          6-2, 7-5