Jan. 26, 2003

The second-ranked Illinois men's tennis team started its dual-match season today in impressive fashion, defeating Ball State, 6-1 at the Atkins Tennis Center.

Illini Head Coach Craig Tiley was pleased with his team's efforts. "We have a lot of new faces that got an opportunity to play today. This was a great start to the season for us."

Despite not having top player, second-ranked Amer Delic, due to disciplinary reasons, and Michael Calkins who is recovering from a foot injury, the Fighting Illini did not miss a beat. The closest match of the day took place in doubles competition. At. No. 2, junior Phil Stolt and freshman Ryler DeHeart defeated Chris Varga and Klint Knable, 9-7. In the No. 1 match, Brian Wilson and newcomer Rajeev Ram outlasted Kevin Burnett and Matt Baccarani, 8-4. Illinois completed the sweep in doubles action when Pramod Dabir and Conner Murnighan defeated Matt Laramore and Patrick Thompson, 8-3.

The Illini continued their dominance during singles play. Wilson cruised past Varga, 6-1, 6-2, in the No. 1 match. Ram was also successful in his singles debut, defeating Matt Baccarani, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 2. Ryler DeHeart, who opened the season at the No. 3 spot, also won in straight sets against Kevin Burnett, 6-1, 6-2. Chris Martin defeated Matt Laramore 6-2, 6-1, at No. 4, and Pramod Dabir swept past Klint Knable 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5. The only Illini loss on the day was at No. 6 where Patrick Thompson knocked off Evan Zeder 6-3, 6-2. Tiley rested Stolt during the singles competition to lessen the strain on his sore shoulder.

"This match speaks well for our depth," said Wilson. "Today we showed that we are one of the deepest teams in the country. We had guys out, but others stepped up and performed well."

Perhaps one of the biggest stories on the afternoon was the debut of highly recruited freshman Rajeev Ram. Ram played in his first collegiate match today after being on campus for only a week. "He is a very impressive player and today's match was a good challenge for him," said Coach Tiley. "He has adjusted well, and today, once the nerves went away and he got settled down, he really played well."

"I was a little nervous at the beginning of our doubles match, and Brian and I had not played together that much, but we settled down, and I felt very comfortable as the match went on."

Illinois (1-0) will travel to South Bend Wednesday to take on No. 27 Notre Dame.

at No. 2 Illinois 6, Ball State 1

SINGLES:
1. No. 20 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Chris Varga (BSU)      6-1, 6-2
2. Rajeev Ram (ILL) def. Matt Baccarani (BSU)            6-2, 6-2
3. No. 84 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Kevin Burnett (BSU)   6-1, 6-4
4. Chris Martin (ILL) def. Matt Laramore (BSU)           6-2, 6-1
5. Pramod Dabir (ILL) def. Klint Knable (BSU)            6-3, 6-0
6. Patrick Thompson (BSU) def. Evan Zeder (ILL)          6-3, 6-2

DOUBLES:
1. Brian Wilson/Rajeev Ram (ILL) def. Kevin Burnett/Matt Baccarani (BSU)          8-4
2. Phil Stolt/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Chris Varga/Klint Knable (BSU)             9-7
3. Pramod Dabir/Conner Murnighan (ILL) def. Matt Laramore/Patrick Thompson (BSU)  8-3