Feb. 11, 2001
Looking ahead, this match had appeared to be Illinois' toughest test at home during the regular season, and it lived up to its billing. No. 5 Duke (3-0) rallied to take four of the six doubles matches and deal the Illini their first defeat of the season Sunday. Freshman mistakes proved costly as all three newcomers dropped their singles contests Sunday in a very tight match before a raucous crowd at the Atkins Tennis Center.
"We're disappointed with the loss, we had opportunities to win this match," said Head Coach Craig Tiley. "Our younger players will learn from this. They just need to do certain things more consistently."
Despite having three doubles tandems in the top 11 in the country, Tiley chose to try out a new pair in today's match. Senior Graydon Oliver and freshman Amer Delic, ranked No. 9, topped 25th-ranked Andres Pedroso and Ted Rueger at No. 1, and the new twosome, junior Mike Kosta and freshman Phil Stolt, defeated Duke's Joel Spicher and Alex Bose at No. 3, to capture the doubles point.
In singles, the unranked Kosta opened with a 6-4, 6-4 upset victory over the Blue Devils' 21st-ranked Pedroso at No. 4 to give the Illini a 2-0 lead. But Duke came storming back with wins over the three UI freshmen--at No.3 by second-ranked Marko Cerenko (over Delic), at No. 6 by Alex Bose (over Michael Calkins), and at No. 2 by 11th-ranked Ramsey Smith (over Stolt). (No. 65) Oliver's hard-fought, three-set triumph over Duke's Phillip King drew the Illini into a tie at 3-3. Then junior Nathan Zeder, who had helped put Illinois over the top in Friday's win over Kentucky, fell short, dropping his contest in the No. 5 spot to Joel Spicher, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
"We really improved in our doubles play since Friday night," said Tiley. "I would not have picked us to lose four singles matches today, but we fought hard, and I'm pleased about that. It's still early in the season, and I'm confident that our young players will learn a great deal from this match and improve their games."
The road for Illinois (4-1) doesn't get any easier. The team will compete in the ITA National Indoor Championships tournament next weekend in Seattle (opening round foe is No. 9 Florida), and then head for a match with No. 2 Tennessee in Knoxville Feb. 25.
Today's Illinois results:
Singles:
1. No. 65 Graydon Oliver (ILL) def. Phillip King (DUKE) 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3)
2. No. 11 Ramsey Smith (DUKE) def. No. 35 Phil Stolt (ILL) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
3. No. 2 Marko Cerenko (DUKE) def. Amer Delic (ILL) 7-5, 6-3
4. Mike Kosta (ILL) def. No. 21 Andres Pedroso (DUKE) 6-4, 6-4
5. Joel Spicher (DUKE) def. Nathan Zeder (ILL) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
6. Alex Bose (DUKE) def. Michael Calkins (ILL) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Doubles:
1. No. 9 Amer Delic and Graydon Oliver (ILL) def. Andres Pedroso and Ted Rueger (DUKE) 8-5
2. Marko Cerenko and Phillip King (DUKE) def. Jamal Parker and Michael Calkins (ILL) 8-5
3. Mike Kosta and Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Ramsey Smith and Alex Bose (DUKE) 8-5
