University of Illinois
USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships
Fighting Illini Blitz Harvard in National Indoors Opener
February 20, 2003 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 20, 2003
The Illini men's tennis team, ranked No. 2 in the nation, took care of business Thursday night, defeating No. 32 and 15th-seeded Harvard, 4-0, in the first round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Indoor Championships in Louisville, Ky.
Illinois jumped on the scoreboard, securing the doubles point with a pair 8-3 victories at Nos. 2 and 3. Brian Wilson and Rajeev Ram topped Jonathan Chu and Brandon Chiu in the No. 2 match, while Phil Stolt and Ryler DeHeart disposed of Oli Choo and Cliff Nguyen in the No. 3 clash. The No. 1 match between second-ranked Amer Delic and Michael Calkins and Harvard's Mark Riddell and David Lingman was aborted when the Illini clinched the doubles point.
UI Head Coach Craig Tiley rested Wilson during singles as a precaution to prevent his tender serving arm from flaring up in what promises to be a demanding four days of tennis in Louisville. It didn't seem to hurt the Illini, as singles did not prove to be much of a contest, either. At No. 1, the second-ranked Delic looked strong in his 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Lingman, ranked No. 89. Chris Martin posted an impressive win at No. 6, 6-2, 6-3 over Oli Choo, and Ram clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Chu, who is No. 30 in the country.
"Overall, I thought the guys did a fairly good job tonight," said UI Head Coach Craig Tiley. "We started a little tentative in doubles, but we were able to win handily. Amer and Rajeev played very well in singles, and Chris did a great job at No. 6. In short, it was a good effort; we did what we had to do to move on."
"We came out pretty focused," said Martin, even though we had to wait all day to play. Harvard was not ranked that highly, but I thought they had a strong team. We needed to come out and play well, and we did. From here on out, the competition will only get tougher and tougher, so we will have to improve and get sharper and sharper as the tournament goes on-I'm confident we can do that."
With the victory, the Fighting Illini will face 18th-ranked and 12th seeded Texas A&M, 4-3 upset winners Thursday night over No. 5 and fifth-seeded Mississippi. Illinois' quarterfinal match is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. CST.
The ITA National Indoors can be followed on the web at www.itatennis.com and at www.fightingillini.com.
No. 2 ILLINOIS 4, No. 32 Harvard 0
SINGLES: 1. No. 2 Amer Delic (ILL) def. No. 89 David Lingman (HVD) 6-3, 6-2 2. Rajeev Ram (ILL) def. No. 30 Jonathan Chu (HVD) 6-2, 6-2 3. No. 6 Phil Stolt (ILL) vs. George Turner (HVD) DNF 4. No. 42 Michael Calkins (ILL) vs. Mark Riddell (HVD) DNF 5. No. 84 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) vs. Cliff Nguyen (HVD) DNF 6. Chris Martin (ILL) def. Oli Choo (HVD) 6-2, 6-2DOUBLES: 1. No. 2 Amer Delic/Michael Calkins (ILL) vs. No. 14 Mark Riddell/David Lingman (HVD) DNF 2. Brian Wilson/Rajeev Ram (ILL) def. Jonathan Chu/Brandon Chiu (HVD) 8-3 3. Phil Stolt/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Oli Choo/Cliff Nguyen (HVD) 8-3
Lingman pairs with Mark Riddell to form the nation's No. 14 doubles team; Chu and Oliver Choo are ranked No. 25. Harvard brings a 2-1 mark to Indoor Nationals after wins over then-No. 73 Boise State (4-2) and then-No. 33 Clemson (4-3), and a loss to then-No. 11 Minnesota (4-3), all at home in Cambridge, Mass.
