Feb. 9, 2001
Eighth-ranked Illinois used an 8-6, come-from-behind victory from juniors Mike Kosta and Nathan Zeder to snatch the doubles point from Kentucky, and went on to a 6-1 triumph over the Wildcats at the Atkins Tennis Center Friday evening.
The match was closer than the score indicated, with two of the six singles matches going to a three sets, and a third requiring a tie-breaker in one of the two sets.
"Overall, we did a good job," said Coach Craig Tiley. "We certainly could have played better in certain spots. But it's good for us to have a close match to help us prepare for a team like (No. 5) Duke on Sunday.
"We like to preach, `when the going gets tough, the tough get going.' When things don't go well, we need to shake it off and then step up. We found ways to win. But we must play better on Sunday," Tiley said.
Illinois started off the singles matches in a bit of a hole. All six UI singles players were assessed a one-game penalty at the beginning of their matches because they weren't on the court at the specified time to start. New college tennis rules permit just five minutes between the end of the last doubles match and the start of singles play. In previous years, the break was 10 minutes.
"We should have been ready to play," said Tiley, "but at the same time, I thought the umpire should have given us at least a warning, particularly since the rule is new this year."
Tiley said the turning point in the match was Zeder coming back in his No. 6 singles match to give the Illini a 3-0 lead.
"I was up a break serving for the match," said Zeder. "But he (opponent Reven Stephens) came back to break my serve. Except for that one game, he couldn't touch my serve. I broke him right back, and eventually I scored four straight points to take the match. Then my teammates started feeding off my win, and took care of business."
Illinois moves to 4-0 on the season, while Kentucky drops to 4-1. The Fighting Illini host No. 5 Duke in a 1p.m. match on Sunday.
Today's Illinois results:
SINGLES:
1. No. 65 Graydon Oliver (ILL) def. No. 99 Edo Bawano (UK) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
2. No. 35 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Matt Emery (UK) 7-6 (5), 7-5
3. Gustav Pousette (UK) def. Amer Delic (ILL) 6-2, 6-3
4. Mike Kosta (ILL) def. Johan Grunditz (UK) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Rahim Esmail (UK) 6-3, 6-1
6. Nathan Zeder (ILL) def. Reven Stephens (UK) 6-4, 7-5
DOUBLES:
1. No. 9 Graydon Oliver/Amer Delic (ILL) def. Karim Benmansour/Johan Grunditz (UK) 8-3
2. No. 42 Reven Stephens/Edo Bawano (UK) def. Michael Calkins/Jamal Parker (ILL) 8-5
3. No. 7 Mike Kosta/Nathan Zeder (ILL) def. Rahim Esmail/Matthew Emery (UK) 8-6
