March 7, 2003

The Illini men's tennis team rolled to its 12th victory in as many outings Friday evening at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana. Illinois, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, took care of business with a 7-0 win over unranked Wisconsin that included three doubles wins and six straight-set singles triumphs. The Fighting Illini (12-0, 2-0) won easily, despite resting three of their regular players in singles, No. 3 Amer Delic, 11th-ranked Brian Wilson and No. 56 Michael Calkins.

The only regular doubles tandem that competed for Illinois was 52nd-ranked Phil Stolt and Ryler DeHeart. The pair usually plays at No. 3, but moved up to No. 1 and held off No. 29 Alex Kasarov and Dave Hippee, 8-5. A couple of new duos picked up 8-3 wins at Nos. 2 and 3-Rajeev Ram and Chris Martin, and Michael Calkins and Alex Hobson, respectively.

"It felt great to get in and play," said Hobson, the lone senior on the squad, who had not competed in a match since Jan. 12. "This was the first time that Michael and I have ever played a full set together, in practice or a match. It didn't seem to matter, because we both know the system and we were able to execute it."

"He's our Rudy," said UI Head Coach Craig Tiley, comparing Hobson to the seldom-used Notre Dame football player about whom a motion picture was made. "But he's better. Alex plays at a higher level. He deserved an opportunity to play, and he took advantage of it tonight. He played well."

Wisconsin (3-5, 0-3) never mounted much of a challenge for the Illini in singles play, either. Aside from DeHeart's 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 4 over the Badgers' Scott Green, no match yielded any more than three games in a set for the visitors. Stolt, ranked No. 2, swept past Kasarov, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1; 22nd-ranked Ram destroyed Hippee, 6-1, 6-1, in the No. 2 match; Martin made the most of first appearance at No. 3, winning, 6-3, 6-2 over Blake Barotz; Pramod Dabir extended his personal winning streak to 15 matches with his 6-0, 6-1 drubbing of Ward Bortz at No. 5; and Evan Zeder made his first appearance since Jan. 26 count with a 6-1, 6-1 pasting of Mark Weinig in the contest at No. 6.

"Our players are better and more experienced," said Tiley, "so a win tonight was pretty much expected. My challenge is to keep our guys focused, not on their individual match results, but in actually getting better. It was good to get a decisive win, even while resting three of our top players. Our depth is very apparent, and it allows a great deal of flexibility as we prepare for post-season tournaments."

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to play at No. 3," said Martin. "That's the highest I've ever played, and I feel I made the best of it. Practice lately has been harder than our matches. I've been working very hard in practice, and it's paying off. Craig is having us focus on improving, having us ask ourselves, 'what can I do today to get better?' And I felt like I played well tonight."

Stolt's singles victory was his 20th of the season (he is 20-2). The team's win was its 56th in a row against a Big Ten opponent in the regular season. The Illini, in their two conference matches this season, are perfect in both singles and doubles, with 12-0 and 6-0 records, respectively; Illinois has won all 24 singles sets in which its players have competed (in conference matches).

Illinois figures to have a sterner test tomorrow, when 44th-ranked Northwestern comes to town. Match time at the Atkins Tennis Center is 6 pm.

No. 1 ILLINOIS 7, Wisconsin 0

SINGLES:
1. No. 2 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Alex Kasarov (WIS)      6-3, 6-3
2. No. 22 Rajeev Ram (ILL) def. Dave Hippee (WIS)      6-1, 6-1
3. Chris Martin (ILL) def. Blake Baratz (WIS)          6-3, 6-2
4. No. 60 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Scott Green (WIS)   7-5, 6-4
5. Pramod Dabir (ILL) def. Ward Bortz (WIS)            6-0, 6-1
6. Evan Zeder (ILL) def. Mark Weinig (WIS)             6-1, 6-1

DOUBLES:
1. No. 52 Phil Stolt/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. No. 29 Alex Kasarov/Dave Hippee (WIS)   8-5
2. Rajeev Ram/Chris Martin (ILL) def. Scott Green/Mark Weinig (WIS)                   8-3
3. Michael Calkins/Alex Hobson (ILL) def. Blake Baratz/Alex Conti (WIS)               8-3