Oliver Makes Early Exit From NCAA Singles Tennis Tournament
May 24, 2001 | Men's Tennis
May 24, 2001
Graydon Oliver completed his Illinois singles career on a down note this afternoon, dropping a 6-4, 6-4 decision to No. 54 Adam Carey of Tennessee in opening-round action at the NCAA Singles Championships, which are being held at the University of Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
The 26th-ranked Oliver, the lone Illini entry in the 64-man singles tournament, ends his singles season with a 16-16 record, while Carey advances to the second round tomorrow against Oliver Maiberger of San Diego State, who upset second-seeded Alex Kim of Stanford earlier today.
"Graydon just did not compete well at all," said UI Head Coach Craig Tiley. "It was very disappointing. He made way too many mistakes. Physically, I think he's just fine, but he's having trouble with the mental side of his game right now."
Oliver has at least one more opportunity to compete for the Fighting Illini. He and freshman Amer Delic, who comprise the nation's No. 2 doubles squad, are scheduled to play their first match in the 32-duo tourney, which starts tomorrow afternoon. Oliver and Delic, who are seeded No. 4, will take to the court some time after 1 p.m. CDT against 17th-ranked Oliver Levant and Nathan Overholser of Florida. Back on Feb. 15 at the National Indoor Championships in Seattle, these two tandems faced each other. The pair from Illinois, ranked No. 11 at the time, defeated the then-No. 2 Florida duo, 8-6, but the Gators won the match, 4-3, on the strength of singles wins at Nos. 1-4.
"Ironically, Graydon and Amer played a practice match here a couple of days ago with these guys, and now they're scheduled to face each other," said Tiley. "Our guys did well, but Levant and Overholser are also very good. They'll have to show up hungry tomorrow to get it done."
Live results for all NCAA singles and doubles matches are available on the internet at www.georgiadogs.com. Both tournaments are scheduled to run through Monday.
