April 6, 2001

MEN'S TENNIS TOPPLES #5 TEXAS A&M Tiley's squad pulls off a 4-3 defeat over the Aggies in College Station

College Station, TX- In front of a crowd of 535 Aggies fans, the University of Illinois men's tennis team upset 5th ranked Texas A&M 4-3. The Illini won the doubles point and three singles matches to capture the victory, and also snapped the Aggies' 27-match home winning streak.

The No. 1 ranked Illini tandem of senior Graydon Oliver and freshman Amer Delic toughed out a 9-8(0) score at No. 1 doubles over Shuon Madden and Dumitru Caradima. Freshman Philip Stolt and junior Jamal Parker fell 8-5 at No. 2 to A&M's Tres Davis and Ryan Newport. But freshman Michael Calkins and junior Mike Kosta were able to outlast Texas' Cody Hubbell and Jarin Skube 9-8(4) at No. 3 to hold onto the doubles point.

"We were in `Aggie Land'", said Stolt. "I think we came out a little tentative in doubles but we got momentum from winning the doubles point going into singles. Their crowd was rowdy and it was a close all around match."

In singles, Oliver fell 6-3, 6-4 to Madden at No. 1, and Kosta dropped a 6-2, 6- 1 decision to Caradima at No. 4. But junior Nathan Zeder handled his Aggie with ease, gaining a 6-4, 6-2 win over Davis at the No. 6 spot. Stolt followed suit with a tough 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory over Newport at No. 2, and only Calkins and Delic were left playing, with the Illini needing one more match to win. Calkins, the freshman from Portland, OR, held court 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3 over Cody Hubbell at No. 5 to clinch the match for the Orange and Blue. Delic was outlasted at No. 3, 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6 by Keith From.

"It was honestly an experience that I've never been faced with before," said Calkins. "I didn't know that I was the deciding match, I thought Amer (Delic) and I both had to win. Their crowd was throwing everything they could think of at us, talking about our shoes, our clothes, our family."

"They were a rowdy crowd," agreed Zeder. "That's always exciting to play against, people who try to match our `Illini Intensity'. But hey, you gotta have respect for that. It was just a great team effort today, there was absolutely no letdown."

"We broke their three-year home match winning streak," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley. "They've won 27 straight at home. We came out and played a very energized, aggressive, attacking style of tennis. This was a difficult place to play but I think now we're putting a stamp on our position (nationally), and our freshmen are doing a particularly good job."

The Illini are now 14-5 on the year and 5-0 in the Big Ten. Up next for Tiley's squad is a home match on Sunday, April 8 when Illinois hosts Iowa at noon. Results can be followed on www.fightingillini.com.

SINGLES:
1. No. 20 Graydon Oliver (ILL) lost to No. 27 Shuon Madden (TEX)	6-3, 6-4
2. No. 59 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. No. 91 Ryan Newport (TEX)		7-6(5), 7-6(5)
3. Amer Delic (ILL) lost to No. 81 Keith From (TEX) 			6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5
4. Mike Kosta (ILL) lost to Dumitru Caradima (TEX)			6-2, 6-1
5. Mike Calkins (ILL) def. Cody Hubbell (TEX)				6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3
6. Nathan Zeder (ILL) def. Tres Davis (TEX) 				6-4, 6-2

DOUBLES:
1. No. 1 Oliver/Delic (ILL) def. No. 11 Caradima/Madden (TEX)	9-8(0)
2. Stolt/Parker (ILL) lost to No. 36 Davis/Newport (TEX)		8-5
3. Calkins/Kosta (ILL) def. No. 30 Hubbell/Jarin Skube (TEX)		9-8(4)