Illinois Dominates Singles Play At ITA Regional

Men's Tennis October 27, 2002

Illinois Dominates Singles Play At ITA Regional

Oct. 27, 2002

The Fighting Illini have gained a reputation in recent years as being particularly strong in doubles, but it was in singles that the team put on an especially impressive display today. Illinois won all of its singles matches today and boasts four of the eight quarterfinalists that remain in the singles main draw at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional in Madison, Wis. and will compete tomorrow.

No. 25 Brian Wilson defeated Ray Van Wasbeek of Northern Illinois, 6-4, 6-2, today, to advance to tomorrow's match in the Round of 8 against Ravi Pathanjali of Western Michigan. On the other side of the bottom half of the bracket, 52nd-ranked Michael Calkins was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over No. 72 Scott Mayer of Purdue. Calkins will take on Luis Haddock of Notre Dame tomorrow. If both Calkins and Wilson win those matches, they would face one another in the semifinal.

Unfortunately an all-Illinois semi-final round is an impossibility because Ryler DeHeart and No. 44 Phil Stolt are paired against one another in one of the top-half quarterfinal contests. DeHeart reached the quarters by virtue of his 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 triumph over Minnesota's Avery Ticer. Stolt advanced on the strength of his 7-6(5), 6-3 victory today over 85th-ranked Matt Scott of Notre Dame. The survivor of the Stolt-DeHeart clash will meet the winner of tomorrow's meeting between top-seeded and 21st-ranked Jeremy Wurtzman of Ohio State and Iowa's Stuart Waters, ranked No. 66.

"All of our players did a great job in singles," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley. "I was particularly pleased with Ryler's win over a very experienced player in Ticer of Minnesota. Brian and Michael had straight-set wins against some good players, and that was great to see. It was really a very dominant showing by our players in singles today."

As strong as Illinois was in singles, its doubles play was surprisingly weak. The Illini had four duos competing. They went 2-4 on the day and none of them reached the Elite Eight. DeHeart and Chris Martin won their morning match, 8-4, over Mike Findling and Tommy Dennis of Western Michigan, but lost in the Round of 16 this afternoon to Aaron Forsberg and Ray VanWasbeek of Northern Illinois. Freshman Pramod Dabir and sophomore Conner Murnighan dispatched Ball State's Chris Varga and Matt Baccaranni, 8-4, but were eliminated in their subsequent contest, 8-6, by Brandon Gill and Kevin Gill of Butler. Brian Wilson and Phil Stolt, ranked No. 44, had a disappointing showing in the Round of 32 this morning, falling, 8-6, to Minnesota's Manuel Lievano and Clay Estes. Sophomore Evan Zeder and senior Alex Hobson were eliminated this morning by Luis Haddock and Nick Lopez of Notre Dame, 8-6.

"As pleased as I was with our singles, I was very disappointed with our doubles play today," said Tiley. "Brian and Phil had a particularly subpar performance in terms of attitude, effort and execution. Our doubles performances really put a damper on what could have been a great day-we really finished on a sour note. We'll just have to go back to the drawing board and make some changes in our doubles. We're just not where we need to be."

Illinois' results can be followed on www.fightingillini.com, while full tournament results are available at http://www.uwbadgers.com/sport_news/mtns/stat_poll/. The tournament runs through Tuesday in Madison.

Corrected and complete Illinois results from ITA Regional singles and doubles main draws:

SINGLES:

Saturday, Oct. 26

Round of 64:  No. 88 Chris Martin (ILL) def. Harry Walsh (Louisville)           7-5, 7-5
              No. 44 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Juan Barriga (Northern Illinois)     7-5, 4-6, 6-3
              Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Cody Conley (Louisville)                 6-3, 7-5
              No. 52 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Eigintas Vendrickas (Marquette) 6-0, 6-0
              No. 64 Thomas Haug (Minnesota) def. Pramod Dabir (ILL)            6-4, 6-4
              No. 25 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Chris Mitchell (Michigan State)    6-3, 6-4

Round of 32:  Andy Formanzyk (Michigan State) def. No. 88 Chris Martin (ILL)    4-6, 6-4, 6-4
              No. 44 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Clay Estes (Minnesota)               6-3, 6-0
              Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Andrew Wakefield (Purdue)                6-2, 7-6 (4)
              No. 52 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Mike Rubin (Michigan)           5-7, 6-3, 6-2
              No. 25 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Josh Axler (Northwestern)          6-4, 6-3


Sunday, Oct. 27

Round of 16:  No. 44 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. No. 85 Matt Scott (Notre Dame)       7-6 (5), 6-3
              Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Avery Ticer (Minnesota)                  6-1, 3-6, 6-2
              No. 52 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. No. 72 Scott Mayer (Purdue)     6-3, 6-2
              No. 25 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Ray VanWasbeek (Northern Illinois) 6-4, 6-2



DOUBLES:

Saturday, Oct. 26

Round of 64:  Chris Martin/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Chris Shaya-Mike Rubin (Michigan)                   8-3
              Pramod Dabir/Conner Murnighan (ILL) def. Luis Haddock/Patrick Buchanan (Notre Dame)	8-4
              No. 44 Phil Stolt/Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Brian D'Amico/Mike Scott (Notre Dame)	      8-5
              Evan Zeder/Alex Hobson (ILL) def. Nick Bodmer/Ken Howrey (Illinois-Chicago)	      9-7

Sunday, Oct. 27

Round of 32:  Chris Martin/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Mike Findling/Tommy Dennis (Western Michigan)	8-4
              Pramod Dabir/Conner Murnighan (ILL) def. Chris Varga/Matt Baccaranni (Ball State)	      8-4
              Manuel Lievano/Clay Estes (Minnesota) def. No. 44 Phil Stolt/Brian Wilson (ILL)	      8-6
              Luis Haddock/Nick Lopez (Notre Dame) def. Evan Zeder/Alex Hobson (ILL)	              8-6

Round of 16:  Aaron Forsberg/Ray VanWasbeek (Northern Illinois) def. Chris Martin/Ryler DeHeart (ILL)	8-4
              Brandon Gill/Kevin Gill (Butler) def. Pramod Dabir/Conner Murnighan (ILL)	              8-6