Nov. 9, 2001

The Illini would just as soon forget their performances at this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Indoor Championships, but you can be sure Coach Craig Tiley won't let them. Sophomore Phil Stolt, Illinois' last hope in the competition's consolation bracket was eliminated, giving the Orange and Blue an 0-4 record during their two days in Farmer's Branch, Texas.

It was unranked Marcus Hornung of Baylor that sent the No. 27 Stolt and his teammates packing with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory this morning.

"It was another disappointing match," said Tiley. "Phil just didn't play consistently well, and he wasn't aggressive enough. He was a better player than his last two opponents, in my opinion, but he didn't show it.

"We played some tough competition down here," he continued, "but that doesn't take away our disappointment. Our performance here will provide plenty of incentive for our players to work diligently to improve their games."

While Tiley, Stolt, Mike Kosta and Nathan Zeder head back to Champaign, Associate Head Coach Bruce Berque, Brian Wilson, Chris Martin and Michael Calkins are preparing for the Big Ten Singles Tournament at Michigan State, which will be held Saturday through Monday.

The fifth-seeded Wilson will open against Purdue's Derek Miller, Calkins, the No. 6 seed will take on Josh Rubens of Penn State, and the 16th-seeded Martin will go up against Avery Ticer of Minnesota in the first round of the 64-player main draw tomorrow.

Follow the Illini players' progress on www.fightingillini.com. Complete results from National Indoors are obtainable at www.itatennis.com. Complete results from the Big Ten Singles Tournament are available at www.msuspartans.com.