Oct. 28, 2003

The Fighting Illini men's tennis team finished a very successful run at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Regional in East Lansing, Mich. today. Three of Illinois' five singles competitors advanced to the semifinals, and another to the quarterfinals. The success didn't stop there when Michael Calkins and Chris Martin concluded a very successful week by winning the doubles title. By winning the doubles championship the duo has earned a berth in the National Indoor Championships, held Nov. 6-9 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Calkins has also received a bid by reaching the finals in the singles draw.

The Illini finished the tourney winning an astonishing 16 of their 21 singles matches, and Associate Head Coach Bruce Berque was obviously pleased with their efforts.

"I think that our players did a great job in this tournament," said Associate Head Coach Bruce Berque. "It was encouraging to see all of them do well, even without the services of seniors Phil Stolt (injured), Brian Wilson and Amer Delic (who are competing in pro events as amateurs this fall), who are three of our better players."

The third-seeded doubles duo of Calkins and Martin defeated Luis Haddock and Ryan Keckley of Notre Dame, 8-2, in the title match. With the victory, the duo has moved its doubles record to a 6-0. In their early-season run, the Orange and Blue tandem has defeated doubles teams from three Big Ten opponents: Minnesota, Michigan and Purdue.

Calkins, who was seeded second, fell just short of making it a clean sweep for Illinois at the regional. After top-seeded and 20th-ranked Jeremy Wurtzman of Ohio State won the first set with a tiebreaker (7-6[8]), Calkins rebounded to take the second set, 6-4. But Wurtzman ended Illini hopes for a sweep when he took the third and decisive set, 6-3. Both finalists earned automatic berths in the National Indoor Championships.

Martin and Pramod Dabir came to the courts this morning with the same expectations as Calkins. Their hopes were dashed early as both lost in this morning's semi-final round. The 12th-seeded Martin fell to his temmate, Calkins, 7-6 (8), 6-3, while Dabir was eliminated by Wurtzman, 6-4, 6-3. All told, Wurtzman was responsible for knocking out four of the five Illini players in the singles bracket. The Buckeyes' No. 1 player won the tournament championship by defeating three UI competitors in row: Ryler DeHeart in the Round of 16, Dabir in the semis, and Calkins for the title. The only defeats Calkins has suffered in the last two tournaments (ITA All-American and ITA Midwest Regional) have come at the hands of Wurtzman.

The Fighting Illini will continue their fall season Nov. 6 when Calkins and Martin compete at the National Indoor Championships, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Calkins will be competing in both doubles and singles action, while Martin will team with Calkins in hopes of making a run at the national indoor doubles title. Illinois also hopes to have 13th-ranked Phil Stolt back. Due to Stolt's August back surgery, Stolt has been unable to compete in any matches so far this fall. Due to his high ranking, the Illini coaches will apply for an at-large berth for Stolt at the National Indoors.

"The regional was a great confidence builder for some of our players, after our early season struggles," Berque summarized. "I think we have represented the school very well in the past few days."

Tuesday's Results:
(For complete bracket results visit msuspartans.ocsn.com/sports/m-tennis)

Singles:

Semifinals: #1 Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU) def. Pramod Dabir (ILL) 6-4, 6-3 #2 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. #12 Chris Martin (ILL) 7-6 (8), 6-3

Final #1 Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU) def. #2 Michael Calkins (ILL) 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-3

Doubles:

Final: #3 Michael Calkins/Chris Martin (ILL) def. #9 Luis Haddock/Ryan Keckley (ND) 8-2