It was a big day for the Illini men's tennis team. For the first time in school history, Illinois had a player in the finals of the ITA Championships. Amer Delic and Michael Calkins became the first players in school history to win the ITA National Championship when they defeated the top seed David Martin and Scott Lipsky of Stanford 8-5 in the championship round.

"I am very excited for Delic and Calkins," said coach Craig Tiley. "To win the national title is something special and they are now the number one doubles team in the country. They played very well and beat a very good team in the finals. This tournament is one of the big three tournaments that we compete in each year, and to win the championship is great for this program."

In singles action, Delic's chances for a second national championship fell short when he lost to 7th seeded Daniel Klemetz of Middle Tennessee, 7-5, 6-3.

"I felt that Amer did not play as well in the championships as he had earlier in the tournament and just didn't execute well," said Tiley.

"Overall though, the team had a great tournament," said Tiley. "We won the title in doubles, Delic reached the finals and Phil Stolt reached the quarterfinals in the singles tournament, and Brian Wilson played well and defeated the number one ranked player in the country in the consolation bracket. Even our younger players improved and played well throughout the tournament."

The Illini will now have some time off before the start of their next tournament on October 24th at the ITA Regional Championships in Madison, Wisconsin.