Illinois' bid for its second national championship in three years was dashed on a hot afternoon in College Station, Texas. Sophomores Michael Calkins and Amer Delic fell in their NCAA Final Four doubles match today, 6-4, 6-4, to Auburn's Andrew Columbo and Mark Kovacs.
The Illini got off to a bad start in the opening set. Delic and Calkins had not allowed a single service break in the doubles tournament up to that point, but their first one turned out to be costly. Both teams held serve the rest of the way, and that proved to be the difference in the set. In the eighth game of the first set with Kovacs serving for Auburn, the Illini came back from being down, 30-0, and scored three consecutive points on shots from Delic, producing a break point. After two deuces and a pair of situations with Auburn having the advantage, Delic went wide and the Tigers went up, 5-3. Delic held serve to bring the score to 5-4.
The Fighting Illini then missed a golden opportunity to break Columbo, the freshaman with what Delic called a 150-mile-an-hour serve. Three Delic attacks down the left side put the Orange and Blue up, 40-15 in Game 10. Calkins went short on a return to allow Auburn to within a point. Then, on the second break point, Delic went wide on a service return. After one deuce, Columbo rocketed an ace that clinched the first set.
Set 2 wasn't a great deal different from the first. Auburn broke Illinois in Game 3 on the strength of a deft lob by Kovacs and a slam by Columbo that gave the Tigers a lead (2-1) that they would never relinquish.
In Game 4, the Illini barely missed on their attempt to come right back with a break on Kovacs.
"We won that first point, but the referee called Michael for touching the net," said Delic. "We ended up winning three points after that that put us up, 40-15. We would have won that game with a break, and I think the match would have turned out differently. But we can't dwell on that now."
The Illini again had chances to break Auburn in Games 6 and 8. A disputed sideline call that brought Coach Craig Tiley out on the court, as well as a couple of Columbo aces, kept the Tigers in control in the sixth game. Two games later, a shot that dropped directly between Delic and Calkins contributed to Kovacs holding his serve. Finally in Game 10 with Columbo serving, the Illini managed to tie the game at 40, but short returns by Calkins and Delic ended the match.
"It was very disappointing," said Tiley. "I have to give the Auburn players credit; they played well, and we didn't play particularly well. We didn't start well, and that set the tone for the rest of the match. It comes down to sticking to your targets and taking care of your swings, and paying attention to the scouting report. We've struggled with that aspect of the game this year with several of our players, and that came up at the beginning of this match. That put the pressure on us, and then it became tough to make returns."
"The key for them was their serving," said Calkins. "They put the pressure on us with the serves, and they came up with some big shots when they needed to. That was the difference. They came up with one break in each set-it was just a point here and there."
"I think physically, we were the better team on the court," said Delic, "but they were looser. I know I was a little nervous before the match. Of course it was the semifinal of a national event. I'm sure they felt nervous, too, but, mentally, we just didn't get it done."
Delic and Calkins end the season with a record of 31-9; Columbo and Kovacs (25-3) move on to tomorrow's championship match against Stanford's David Martin and Scott Lipsky.
Illinois' Final Four appearance this year constitutes their third consecutive trip deep into the NCAA Doubles Tournament. Two years ago, Graydon Oliver and Cary Franklin won Illinois' first national tennis title, and last year, Delic and Oliver reached the Elite Eight.
Though disappointed, Tiley sees a tremendous upside to the immediate future of Illinois Tennis.
"These guys are halfway through their college careers, and if they make the changes they need to make, along with the other guys, it should really give us something to draw upon and good things will happen. We have a number of strong players returning, and our incoming talent is very strong. Overall, this was a great year, and it's been fun working with all of the guys. I was proud of their efforts."
