April 15, 2001
Senior Day didn't quite come off as planned, but the Illinois men's tennis team will take the outcome, just the same. First, the No. 1 doubles team in the nation, made up of senior Graydon Oliver and Amer Delic, was upset for the second day in a row, and second, the Illini dropped the first set of four of the six singles matches to dig themselves quite a hole. In the end, however, Illinois was too strong for Minnesota, and moved its record to 17-5 overall and 8-0 in the Big Ten with a 5-2 victory at the chilly UI Atkins Tennis Center this afternoon.
"We did dig ourselves a hole," said UI Head Coach Craig Tiley. "We weren't playing well at the start, and Minnesota is a good team. Still, most of our guys came through when they had to, and it's always good to get a win. Even though we won both matches this weekend, this can be a wakeup call to our players as we approach the championship phase of our season."
Oliver and Delic fell, 8-6, to Harsh Mankad and Jorge Duenas at No. 1 doubles. It was their second defeat in as many days to an unranked duo (they lost yesterday to Wisconsin's Scott Rutherford and Scott Green). The Fighting Illini won the doubles point on a pair of 8-5 victories: Jamal Parker and Phil Stolt over Tyson Parry and Jon Svensson at No. 2 and Mike Kosta and Michael Calkins over Chris Wettengel and Eric Robertson at No. 3.
"They played soft," said Tiley of Oliver and Delic in their doubles matches. "I was very disappointed in their performance, particularly after being upset yesterday. Every time they step out on the court, they have an opportunity. Clearly, they were not the No. 1 doubles team in the country this weekend."
Minnesota started out strong, taking the opening sets at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5, and it looked like Illinois' streak of consecutive Big Ten victories might be in jeopardy. Mankad went on to defeat Oliver at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, and Jorge Duenas got past Illinois' Phil Stolt at No. 2, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 2. But those two Gopher wins came after Calkins had clinched the Illini win with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Wettengel at No. 5. Delic won his No. 3 singles match, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 over Jon Svensson at No. 3. Kosta took care of business at No. 4, as did Nathan Zeder at No. 6, with straight-set victories. Kosta dispatched Aleksey Zharinov, 6-3, 6-0, and Zeder topped Eric Robertson 6-2, 6-4.
"The lower part of our lineup had good energy," said Tiley. "This weekend they were a good example for our top guys to follow."
The Fighting Illini have just one more week to make certain that they're ready for the post-season. They hit the road to play at Ohio State and Penn State April 21 and 22. Then, the following weekend, they'll head for the Big Ten Championship Tournament in Madison, Wis.
At No. 10 ILLINOIS 5, No. 44 Minnesota 2
SINGLES
1. No. 52 Harsh Mankad (MINN) def. No. 20 Graydon Oliver (ILL) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
2. Jorge Duenas (MINN) def. No. 59 Phil Stolt (ILL) 6-4, 7-5
3. Amer Delic (ILL) def. Jon Svensson (MINN) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. Mike Kosta (ILL) def. Aleksey Zharinov (MINN) 6-3, 6-0
5. Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Chris Wettengel (MINN) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
6. Nathan Zeder (ILL) def. Eric Robertson (MINN) 6-2, 6-4
DOUBLES
1. Harsh Mankad/Jorge Duenas (MINN) def. No. 1 Graydon Oliver/Amer Delic (ILL) 8-6
2. Jamal Parker/Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Tyson Parry/Jon Svensson (MINN) 8-5
3. Mike Kosta/Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Eric Robertson/Chris Wettengel (MINN) 8-5
