Sept. 26, 2001
The Illinois men's tennis team opens its fall season this weekend with some high-quality competition. The Fighting Illini will join Big Ten rival Minnesota and Pac-10 foes Southern California and host California in the Napa Valley Tennis Challenge Sept. 28-30 at the Meadowood Resort in St. Helena, Calif.
All four teams finished last season ranked among the nation's Top 50. The Illini were 12th, followed by Cal at No. 15, Southern Cal at No. 20, and Minnesota at No. 47. The event will have a dual-match format, but no team scores will be kept.
"We're excited about playing with Minnesota, our No. 1 Big Ten rival, in this challenge event," said Tiley. USC and Cal are two of the top teams in the Pac-10, so this should be an outstanding event. We're also looking forward to playing in front of some of our alumni this weekend.
"Our players have been hitting the ball extremely well this fall, and while we have not prepared specifically for this tournament, we have been working on various technical aspects of our play. We're anxious to see how we stack up with some good outside competition."
The tournament will feature some of the best players in the nation. Illinois sophomores Phil Stolt and Amer Delic open the season ranked No. 27 and No. 88, respectively in singles, while freshman sensation Chris Martin, who has yet to play his first collegiate match, is tied at No. 100 in the pre-season poll. On the doubles side, Delic and classmate Michael Calkins hold down the No. 14 spot, while the senior duo of Mike Kosta and Nathan Zeder are at No. 25 and Stolt and sophomore Brian Wilson come in at No. 44.
Among the opponents, 36th-ranked Balazs Veress leads the way for the host Golden Bears. Southern California boasts five players ranked in the Top-100, with Andrew Park as the Trojans' top player with the No. 8 ranking. Minnesota has a pair of ranked players, No. 22 Harsh Mankad and No. 51 Thomas Haug.
Tiley Recognized
Illinois Head Tennis Coach Craig Tiley, now in his ninth season with the Orange and Blue, was recently honored by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) is the College Coach of the Year through its 2001 international awards program. Award winners are usually feted during a ceremony at the USPTA World Conference on Tennis, but this year's conference, scheduled for Sept. 12-18, was cancelled as a result of the recent terrorist attacks on the United States.
Tiley, a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and the 1999 NCAA Coach of the Year, was humbled yet gratified by the recognition.
"I'm honored that my peers have recognized our accomplishments at the University of Illinois," he said. "I know that there are many keys to success, but there are two that are particularly important-working hard and surrounding yourself with good people. So, from my point of view, this is in many ways not an individual award, but rather an award for the support staff and the team. I'm grateful for the national recognition, and I appreciate the support. It's definitely gratifying to be rewarded for something I love to do."
For more information on the USPTA awards, log on to the organization's web site at:
http://www.uspta.com/index.cfm?menugroup=USPTA-About
