March 8, 2003
Illinois showed it was not about to relinquish its vice-grip on the nation's No. 1 ranking Saturday night as it dominated Big Ten foe Northwestern, 7-0, in action at the UI Atkins Tennis Center. The Fighting Illini boosted their record to 13-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference with yet another strong performance from all seven UI players who hit the courts.
The Illini had no trouble scoring the doubles point, with two new duos easily defeating their Wildcat counter parts. Phil Stolt and Chris Martin picked up an 8-1 win over Chuck Perrin and Russel Bennett at No. 2, and Pramod Dabir and Rajeev Ram teamed up to shut out NU's Josh Axler and Adam Schaechterle in the No. 3 match. Second-ranked Amer Delic and Michael Calkins struggled a little, but finished strong in an 8-6 decision at No. 1over Jackie Jenkins and Thomas Hanus.
Illinois sailed through singles play, with one exception. Ram, Delic, Calkins, Martin and Ryler DeHeart, all won their matches in straight sets at Nos. 1-5, respectively. The most interesting match of the day took place on Court No. 6 where UI freshman Pramod Dabir dropped his first set, 6-0, to Ahmed Wahla, but rallied to complete the Illini shutout by taking sets 3 and 4, 6-4 and 6-0.
"Rajeev and I executed very well in doubles, even though this was our first match playing together," said Dabir. "But in singles, it was a different story. I wasn't playing bad at all, but Wahla was unbelievable. I knew he couldn't keep it up, and I actually felt much stronger in the second set and on into the third."
Dabir's first-set loss was Illinois' first in its initial three Big Ten matches.
"We're probably going to let him have it," joked Delic. "Seriously, though, he's been playing extremely well, even though he's not always in the lineup. He did a good job coming back strong after dropping that first set."
"I was pleased with our performance tonight," said Head Coach Craig Tiley. "Our guys were a little more fiery tonight. We knew Northwestern would put up a fight, and they did. It's just that our guys are playing very good tennis right now."
The Illini will enjoy a few days off before returning to action. The squad's next match is on Thursday March 20, when Minnesota, ranked No. 15, will invade the Atkins Tennis Center in another Big Ten contest.
No. 1 ILLINOIS 7, No. 44 Northwestern 0
SINGLES:
1. No. 22 Rajeev Ram (ILL) def. Thomas Hanus (NU) 6-1, 6-0
2. No. 3 Amer Delic (ILL) def. Jackie Jenkins (NU) 6-3, 6-2 *
3. No. 56 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Josh Axler (NU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Chris Martin (ILL) def. Chuck Perrin (NU) 6-2, 7-5
5. No. 60 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Adam Schaechterle (NU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Pramod Dabir (ILL) def. Ahmed Wahla (NU) 0-6, 6-4, 6-0
DOUBLES:
1. No. 2 Amer Delic/Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Jackie Jenkins/Thomas Hanus (NU) 8-6
2. Phil Stolt/Chris Martin (ILL) def. Chuck Perrin/Russel Bennett (NU) 8-1
3. Rajeev Ram/Pramod Dabit (ILL) def. Josh Axler/Adam Schaechterle (NU) 8-0
