June 27, 2002

When Amer Delic and Michael Calkins walked off the court after their NCAA semifinal match the day before Memorial Day, the Illinois tennis season was officially over. But that was not the beginning of the off-season for the Fighting Illini. It was just the beginning of another chapter, another phase of the tennis year.

Calkins and Delic have been busy this month, playing on the Futures circuit. They reached the doubles finals of the tournament at Sunnyvale, Calif., and are currently competing in a Futures event at Auburn, Calif., where UI teammate Brian Wilson is also in the field. Wilson's partner is Nick Rainey of the University of Southern California (the team that eliminated the Illini in the NCAA Elite Eight). Rainey and Wilson have had a very successful June, having won the doubles titles at both the Fresno and Berkeley, Calif. Futures events.

Those three upcoming juniors are not the only Illini players competing this summer. Classmate Phil Stolt is currently teamed up with former Illini Mike Kosta at a clay court Futures event in Buffalo, N.Y. They have advanced to the second round of the tournament in both the singles and doubles draws. Earlier in the month, Kosta and another former UI player Nathan Zeder, reached the doubles semifinals in a Futures competition in Mexico.

Graydon Oliver earned the first Grand Slam victory for a former Illinois player when he won his opening-round doubles match at Wimbledon.

Perhaps the most exciting news, however, comes from Wimbledon. Another former Illini, Graydon Oliver, is paired up with Jan Michael Gambill of the U.S., and the two won their opening-round doubles match in the main draw at Wimbledon. The victory is believed to be the first in a Grand Slam Tournament for a former University of Illinois player.

Not to be outdone, Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley was part of a stunning victory yesterday at Wimbledon. Tiley, since January, has doubled as the coach for Chicago-born George Bastl of Switzerland, who pulled a major upset, eliminating sixth-seeded Pete Sampras. Bastl, ranked No. 145 in the world, was on the UI campus in March and April, spending time training under Tiley. Tiley is also coaching Wayne Ferreira of his native South Africa at the Wimbledon tournament.

July figures to be a busy month for the current Illinois players. Although the draws are not yet set, it's expected that a number of them will be competing in Futures events in Peoria, Decatur and Alton. Qualifying for the Peoria event, the first of the three, will begin Friday, July 5.