April 12, 2001

The 10th-ranked Illinois men's tennis team will complete its 2000-2001 home schedule this weekend when it takes on two Big Ten foes. The Orange and Blue will face Wisconsin at noon Saturday, and then hosts Minnesota Sunday at noon. The matches are part of Spring Sports Festival weekend, a promotion through which fans are encouraged to take in not only Illini tennis, but also women's golf and softball, as well as the spring intrasquad football game.

"We're a marked team," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley. "Wisconsin beat Minnesota earlier, but they're both good teams, and they'll come after us. Traditionally, we've had a lost of close matches with Minnesota, and several times it has come down to the Gophers and the Illini for the Big Ten title. This is a big weekend for us. Besides the fact that we have two strong Big Ten teams coming in, we have some special events going on, and we'll be recognizing our seniors, Graydon Oliver and Ben Schreiber."

Prior to the Wisconsin match, a local celebrity doubles exhibition match will take place, featuring Popeye and Marge of WLRW Radio-Mix 94.5, and the WCIA-TV tandem of Mike Cleff and Trisha Whitkanack. In addition, under the theme, "Grill the Badgers," spectators will be treated to free brats, burgers, chips and drinks.

No. 51 Wisconsin brings an 11-7 (4-3 conference) record to the court this weekend. Last weekend, the Badgers picked up a win over No. 46 Purdue, but fell 4-3 to No. 35 Indiana. Illinois, by comparison, notched wins over both Purdue and Indiana two weeks ago. Illinois leads the all-time series with UW, 44-26, and has won the last seven matches, last falling on April 30, 1994.

No. 44 Minnesota enters this weekend 5-2 in league play, but has had three weeks off since downing Penn State, 5-2. The Golden Gophers are scheduled to play Northwestern Saturday before traveling downstate to face the Illini. Last time the teams matched up, Illinois took the victory by a 4-1 score in the championship match at the 2000 Big Ten Tournament. Illinois trails in the series, 29-25. Sunday's match is also "Senior Day", where seniors Graydon Oliver and Ben Schreiber will be honored.

The Fighting Illini, which moved from No. 15 to No. 10 in the ITA national rankings this week, has a 15-5 overall record and a 6-0 in mark conference action. Illinois is hoping to extend its Big Ten record streak of 51 consecutive conference wins this weekend. Senior Graydon Oliver and freshman Amer Delic will also get their first opportunity to defend their No. 1 national doubles ranking when they hit the court Saturday afternoon.

The Orange and Blue wrap up their Big Ten schedule next weekend when they travel to Ohio State and Penn State. The Big Ten Tournament will be held April 26-29 in Madison, Wis. NCAA regional play will take place May 11-13, with the nationals scheduled for May 19-27 in Athens, Ga.