April 20, 2002

The Illinois men's tennis team put itself in the driver seat for its sixth consecutive Big Ten title after defeating Penn State 7-0 Saturday on Senior Day at the Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois (19-4, 9-0) awaits the arrival of Ohio State, who is at Northwestern today, for tomorrow's conference championship showdown.

"We played well today, but tomorrow is a different day," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley. "We've been really excited to play Ohio State, and we'll have to play a little better tomorrow to win."

The Illini quickly took control of the Nittany Lions, sweeping the doubles point. Sophomores Amer Delic and Michael Calkins disposed of Jamie Gresh and Clint Keithly, 8-2, and sophomore Phil Stolt and Parker knocked off Roddy Cantey and Todd Stecko by the same score. After facing two match points in the tiebreaker, Kosta and Zeder completed the sweep, 9-8 (6), against Brad Nudell and Matt Frakes.

Stolt received a nice surprise this morning when Tiley told him he would play at the No. 1 singles spot, and the New Jersey native responded with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win versus Jamie Gresh, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week.

"I like the challenge of playing up in the lineup," Stolt said. "He (Gresh) is a good player, but the coaches decided to give me a chance because Brian (Wilson) wasn't playing today. I was excited to play there."

Wilson, who usually plays No. 1 or No. 1 singles, sat out to stay within the NCAA total appearances limit.

Kosta, who played at the No. 4 position, clinched the win for the No. 3 Illini with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Frakes. Delic defeated Stecko 6-3, 7-6 (6) at No. 2, and Calkins beat Nudell 6-1, 6-2 to run his winning streak to eight matches. Freshman Chris Martin filled in for Zeder at No. 5, defeating Cantey 6-1, 6-0. Parker returned to singles action for the first time since Feb. 9, and he dropped Keithley 6-3, 6-4.

The Illini face the Buckeyes at noon Sunday at Atkins, where the winner will be crowned Big Ten champions.

"It's kind of like a bragging rights game," Stolt said. "We don't want to emphasize beating them. We just want to go out and execute and play our game. If we do that, I think we can win."

Today's Illinois results


Singles
1  #67 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. #62 Jamie Gresh (PSU)               7-6 (5), 6-4
2  #12 Amer Delic (ILL) def. Todd Stecko (PSU)                   6-3, 7-6 (6)
3  #87 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Brad Nudell (PSU)              6-1, 6-2
4  Mike Kosta (ILL) def. Matt Frakes (PSU)                       6-1, 6-1
5  Chris Martin (ILL) def. Roddy Cantey (PSU)                    6-1, 6-0
6  Jamal Parker (ILL) def. Clint Keithley (PSU)                  6-3, 6-4


Doubles
1  #4 Amer Delic/Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Jamie Gresh/Clint Keithley (PSU)    8-2
2  Mike Kosta/Nathan Zeder (ILL) def. Brad Nudell/Matt Frakes (PSU)             9-8 (6)
3  Phil Stolt/Jamal Parker (ILL) def. Roddy Cantey/Todd Stecko (PSU)            8-2