March 12, 2002

The Illinois men's tennis team (8-3) will compete at the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala. Mar. 14-17. The Illini's last appearance at the event came in 2000 when the team shared first place with Fresno State, which also is making the trip.

Since 1997, the Illini have made the trip to Montgomery five times and have posted a 10-3 mark. The team finished third in 1997 and 1998, and was the runner-up in 1999.

The No. 5 Illini have struggled of late, losing their last two matches to then-No. 19 Duke and No. 6 Notre Dame. The Irish, whom the Illini defeated 5-2 at the 2000 Blue-Gray Classic, lead a strong list of opponents this week that includes No. 33 North Carolina, No. 35 Tulane and No. 36 Rice.

"There are some very good teams in this tournament, and many of them will be upset-minded," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley. "We'll have to play very well this week to have a chance of winning it."

Illinois, the second seed in the tournament next to first-seeded Notre Dame, plays its first match of the week against No. 69 Louisville (7-10). If the Illini win out in their half of the bracket and the Irish do the same, the two teams will meet in the tournament final for a rematch of last week's dual at Atkins Tennis Center.

The Illini are led by seniors Nathan Zeder and Mike Kosta. The doubles tandem has won its last eight matches and is 15-7 this season. In singles play Zeder is 11-2, and Kosta is 11-8. Sophomores Amer Delic and Brian Wilson will try to get back on track after a difficult stretch of matches, Delic has lost his last two singles outings and Wilson his last three.

"We have been playing tentatively the last couple of matches," Tiley said. "Practices have been going well, now our players have to convert their strong play in practice to strong play in actual matches."

The other ranked teams invited are No. 40 San Diego State, No. 45 Tulsa and No. 51 William & Mary.

Opening-round pairings:

(1) Notre Dame vs. Tulsa
Alabama-Birmingham vs. Rice
(4) Indiana State vs. Williams & Mary
North Carolina vs. Harvard
Virginia Commonwealth vs. San Diego State
South Alabama vs. (3) Middle Tennessee State
Fresno State vs. Tulane
Louisville vs. (2) ILLINOIS