March 29, 2001
Notre Dame, IN--The 22nd ranked University of Illinois men's tennis team dropped No. 10 Notre Dame today 5-2. The Illini swept doubles and grabbed four of the six singles matches en route to victory.
In doubles, the Illini came out firing, sweeping all three spots to gain the doubles point. At No. 1, senior Graydon Oliver and freshman Amer Delic downed Javier Taborga and Aaron Talarico 8-3. Freshman Philip Stolt and junior Jamal Parker teamed up to take Notre Dame's Casey Smith and Luis Haddock-Morales 8-3 at the No. 2 spot. The Illini tandem of freshman Michael Calkins and junior Mike Kosta completed the doubles dominance at No. 3, defeating Brian Farrell and Matt Daly 8-4.
"I think that we played our best doubles yet," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley. "We completely dominated doubles. I think that our young players are starting to make breakthroughs, which I expected at this point in the season. We've played Top 5 and Top 10 teams all year and we've beaten the teams we should beat."
In a show of grit and determination, Oliver competed in both singles and doubles, despite fighting sickness for most of the week. After decisively winning his doubles match with Delic, he went on to tough out a 7-5, 0-6, 6-2 score over Casey Smith at the No. 1 spot. Stolt netted Taborga 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 at No. 2, while Delic handed Haddock-Morales a quick 6-3, 6-2 loss at No. 3. The Illini faltered a bit at Nos. 4 and 5, as Kosta fell 6-3, 7-5 to Talarico and Calkins dropped a 7-6(5), 6-0 decision to Farrell. Junior Nathan Zeder posted a 7-6(4), 7-5 victory over Notre Dame's Daly at No. 6.
"I feel like we had a breakthrough today," said Oliver. "We've been there the whole time, but we just needed to get one done. I think that we were well-prepared and had a great week of practice. We're in the right mindset for this time of the season."
"We came here today and in doubles we made a statement," said Stolt. "All the things we have been working on in practice came alive on the court today. Everybody performed well because things from practice are starting to click."
The Illini are now 11-5 on the year and 3-0 in the Big Ten. Next up is a Big Ten double-header weekend as the Illini travel to Indiana on Saturday and Purdue on Sunday. Both matches are at noon, and results will be posted on www.fightingillini.com.
SINGLES
1. Oliver d. Smith 7-5, 0-6, 6-2
2. Stolt d. Taborga 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
3. Delic d. Haddock-Morales 6-3, 6-2
4. Kosta lost to Talarico 6-3, 7-5
5. Calkins lost to Farrell 7-6(5), 6-0
6. Zeder d. Daly 7-6(4), 7-5
DOUBLES
1. Oliver/Delic d. Taborga/Talarico 8-3
2. Stolt/Parker d. Smith/Haddock-Morales 8-3
3. Calkins/Kosta d. Farrell/Daly 8-4
