Oct. 25, 2003
The Illinois men's tennis team made a strong statement today in the opening rounds of play at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional in East Lansing, Mich., winning four of their five matches in both the singles and doubles main draws.
Seeded No. 2 in the ITA Midwest Regional in East Lansing, Mich. Michael Calkins continued his strong fall-season play by defeating Ryan McCarthy of Indiana, 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the Round of 32 and a match against Notre Dame's Barry King.
Eighth-seeded Ryler DeHeart, No. 12-seed Chris Martin, and Pramod Dabir will join Calkins on tomorrow's card. DeHeart advanced by defeating a Big Ten opponent, Parker Ross of Iowa, 6-4, 6-2. Martin and Dabir each defeated opponents in two sets in their march to the next round. Martin won 7-5, 6-1 over Dave Hippe of Wisconsin, while Dabir took down Erik Lindross of Western Michigan, 6-2, 6-2. Illinois' only singles setback came when Evan Zeder was defeated 6-1, 6-2 by top seed Jeremy Wurtzman of Ohio State.
"Overall, I was pretty pleased with the performances today by our players," said Associate Head Coach Bruce Berque. "Four of the singles players won, but going into the tournament that is what we expected as a team.
"Michael was very impressive today," continued Berque. "If he can somehow compete tomorrow at the same level he did today, I think he can beat almost anyone. Ryler also had a good, solid match; he made very few mistakes. He continues to improve as he plays more matches."
Three doubles tandems also opened main-draw play today; two of the three won two matches to advance to tomorrow's Round of 16. The third-seeded team of Michael Calkins and Chris Martin began the day with a comeback victory against Tony Tran and Khalid Al Nabbani of Toledo. After being behind during most of the match, the duo was able to tie the score at 6-6, and eventually go on to an 8-6 victory. After the emotional victory in the first round, the pair was able to rebound and win convincingly, 8-0, against Marko Marevic and Mark Muskievicz from Bradley in the Round 2.
The other UI doubles team to advance to the Round of 16 was Dabir and DeHeart. The two sophomores began the day with a forfeit win because Marc Pvatt and Luke Recker of Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis failed to show for the match. Later the Illini duo went on to bounce Jamie Friedland and Justin Hoeverland of Northwestern from the regional with an 8-2 triumph.
The lone Illinois doubles loss came when Jonny Hoak and Walter Valarezo of Iowa defeated Conner Murnighan and Evan Zeder, 8-3.
SATURDAY'S ILLINOIS RESULTS:
(for complete results, visit msuspartans.ocsn.com/sports/m-tennis on the web)
Singles:
#1 Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU) def. Evan Zeder (ILL) 6-1, 6-2
#2 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Ryan McCarthy (IND) 6-0, 6-2
#8 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Parker Ross (IOWA) 6-4, 6-2
#12 Chris Martin (ILL) def. Dave Hippee (WIS) 7-5, 6-1
Pramod Dabir (ILL) def. Erik Lindross (WMU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles:
#3 Michael Calkins/Chris Martin (ILL) def. Tony Tran/Khalid Al Nabbani (UT) 8-6
#3 Michael Calkins/Chris Martin (ILL) def. Marko Marevic/Mark Muskievicz (BRAD) 8-0
#8 Pramod Dabir/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Marc Pvatt/Luke Recker (IUPUI) Def. (ns)
#8 Pramod Dabir/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Jamie Friedland/Justin Hoeveler (NU) 8-2
Jonny Hoak/Walter Valarezo (IOWA) def. Conner Murnighan/Evan Zeder (ILL) 8-3
Sunday's Matchups:
Singles:
#8 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) vs. Eric Simonton (MSU) 9 AM
Pramod Dabir (ILL) vs. Juan Barriga (NIU) 9 AM
#2 Michael Calkins (ILL) vs. Barry King (ND) 10:30 AM
#12 Chris Martin (ILL) vs. Matt Baccarani (BSU) 10:30 AM
Doubles:
Michael Calkins/Chris Martin (ILL) vs. Anthony Jackson/Michael Rubin (MICH) TBA
Pramod Dabir/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) vs. Luis Haddock/Ryan Keckley (ND) TBA
