Feb. 22, 2001
Coach Craig Tiley and the 13th-ranked Illini men's tennis team never shy away from challenges. They head for Knoxville, Tenn., this weekend for a battle with the seventh-ranked Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday.
The contest will be Illinois' fourth in its last five against teams from the nation's Top 10. The Fighting Illini, 5-3, are still looking for their first win this season against that upper echelon of opponents.
"We're coming back from a very tough road trip to the National Indoor Championships in Seattle," said Tiley of his team's performance last week (win against Princeton, losses to then-No. 9 Florida and No. 4 Georgia). "But we're playing better."
"We play a very good Tennessee team, and they are particularly tough at home. They reached the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament last spring, and they have been ranked as high as No. 2 this year.
"We're expecting a very tough match," Tiley continued, "but at the same time, we're certainly looking forward to the trip."
If the Illini are not used to life on the road, they will soon be. Their last three matches were in Seattle, and the Tennessee tilt is the first of five straight dual matches on enemy courts. Tiley's troops don't return to the Atkins Tennis Center for competition until March 24-25, when Michigan and Michigan State come to town.
Illinois has two players ranked in singles: freshman Phil Stolt (39) and senior Graydon Oliver (75). Oliver has won five of his last six matches, including one over Matias Boeker of Georgia, the No. 6 player in the country, to move his season record to 9-4. Freshman Michael Calkins has also been playing well so far this year, as has junior Nathan Zeder. Calkins has won six of his last seven matches and is 16-6 on the season, while Zeder has upped his mark to 12-4 after winning five of his last six matches.
Oliver and freshman Amer Delic form the nation's No. 11 doubles team and are coming off big victories over the two top duos in the nation, Matias Boeker and Travis Parrett of Georgia (No. 1) and Olivier Levant and Nathan Overholser of Florida (No. 2). The formidable UI doubles lineup is also bolstered by No. 24 Mike Kosta and Nathan Zeder, a pair of juniors.
The Volunteers are still smarting from the upset loss they sustained against then-No. 45 Oklahoma State at the National Indoors in Seattle last week, but that is the only blemish on their 5-1 record. Tennessee has registered impressive victories over No. 7 Mississippi and (twice) over No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth. They also took care of business with a pair of 7-0 wins over Tennessee-Chattanooga and East Tennessee State.
That Tennessee has been so successful is no accident. They boast four ranked singles players: Adam Carey (73), Mark Parsons (59), Paul Podbury (35) and Peter Handoyo (28). The Vols are also strong in doubles with Cary and Parsons being ranked ninth and Andy Crews/Handoyo No. 16.
A victory over Tennessee would be the second in a row for Illinois (UI won 4-3 at Atkins Feb. 20, 2000) and would tie the all-time series record at three wins apiece.
