University of Illinois
MINNESOTA
Minnesota No Match For No. 1 Illinois
March 20, 2003 | Men's Tennis
March 20, 2003
In what could be their last indoor tennis match of the season, the Fighting Illini tallied their 10th shutout of the year, a 7-0 blanking of the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Atkins Tennis Center tonight. The top-ranked Orange and Blue ran its record to 14-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten with that victory.
The match was considerably closer than the score indicated.
"All of the matches were close," said UI Coach Craig Tiley. "We expected a tough one. Minnesota had us on our heels early, but I was pleased with how our players kept their composure and stayed competitive throughout."
No. 36 Phil Stolt and Ryler DeHeart put the Illini in a bit of a hole, losing their No. 3 doubles match to Minnesota's Chris Wettengel and Aleksey Zharinov, 8-4, but their teammates came through to score the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2. No. 28 Rajeev Ram and Brian Wilson scored an 8-4 victory at No. 1 over Thomas Haug and Manuel Lievano, and fifth-ranked Michael Calkins and Amer Delic won their No. 2 match against Avery Ticer and Eric Robertson by the same score.
"We could have played better in doubles," said Tiley, "but I thought we were a little rusty after not having played since March 8."
If Illinois' doubles rankings didn't seem to coincide with its lineup, neither did its singles rankings. Tiley, who considers most of his starting lineup very close in ability, continues to give as many of his players as possible opportunities to compete in different parts of the lineup. The 14th-ranked Ram, a freshman from the Indianapolis area, stepped up at No. 1 and swept 63rd-ranked Thomas Haug, 6-3, 6-3. Stolt, ranked No. 8, shook off a tight first set and ended up defeating 56th-ranked Aleksey Zharinov, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the No. 2 battle. The ninth-ranked Wilson won his match at No. 3, 6-3, 7-5, over Wettengel. Delic dropped down from his usual spot at or near the top of the lineup to compete at No. 4; he got past Minnesota's Manuel Lievano, 7-6 (4), 5-7, and 10-2 (in the super-tiebreaker). Calkins also needed a super-tiebreaker to win his match at No. 5. He defeated the Gophers' Avery Ticer, 7-6 (4), 3-6 (10-5). Chris Martin swept past his opponent in the No. 6 contest; he defeated Eric Robertson, 6-2, 6-4.
The match was originally scheduled to start at 6 p.m., but was rescheduled to 7:30 earlier this week to accommodate those fans who wished to also watch Illinois' first-round victory in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Since the Illini had already clinched the tennis victory and the hour was late, the two head coaches agreed to settle the final two singles matches with super-tiebreakers in lieu of third sets.
The Fighting Illini will take tomorrow off, but will practice at the Atkins Tennis Center Saturday before departing on their spring break trip to the state of California. There they will battle the fifth-ranked Cal Bears in Berkeley on Tuesday, then head south along the coast for a Friday duel at Pepperdine in Malibu.
"We may be ranked No. 1," said Tiley, but we shouldn't be the favorite to win at No. 5 Cal. They are extremely tough at home, and this will be our first match outside. So the deck seems to be stacked against us a little."
The Fighting Illini will return to Big Ten play April 5 and 6 at Ohio State and Penn State, but won't play at home until the weekend of April 12 and 13, when Michigan State and Michigan come to town.
No. 1 ILLINOIS 7, No. 12 Minnesota 0
SINGLES: 1. No. 14 Rajeev Ram (ILL) def. No. 63 Thomas Haug (MINN) 6-3, 6-3 2. No. 8 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. No. 56 Aleksey Zharinov (MINN) 7-6 (4), 6-3 3. No. 9 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. No. 105 Chris Wettengel (MINN) 6-3, 7-5 4. No. 5 Amer Delic (ILL) def. Manuel Lievano (MINN) 7-6 (4), 5-7 (10-5) 5. No. 103 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Avery Ticer (MINN) 7-6 (4), 3-6 (10-2) 6. Chris Martin (IL) def. Eric Robertson (MINN) 6-2, 6-4DOUBLES: 1. No. 28 Rajeev Ram/Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Thomas Haug/Manuel Lievano (MINN) 8-4 2. No. 5 Michael Calkins/ Amer Delic (ILL) def. Avery Ticer/Eric Robertgson (MINN) 8-4 3. Chris Wettengel/Aleksey Zharinov (MINN) def. No. 36 Phil Stolt/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) 8-4
