University of Illinois
Louisiana State
Fighting Illini Tame LSU Tigers, 6-1
April 10, 2003 | Men's Tennis
April 10, 2003
Even though Coach Craig Tiley's Illinois men's tennis team didn't have the energy and focus he would have liked, the Orange and Blue won its last non-conference match of the regular season convincingly, 6-1 over Louisiana State in Baton Rouge this evening. The victory boosted the UI season record to 19-0 ahead of its home matches Saturday and Sunday against Michigan State and Michigan. The Fighting Illini will go into post-season play having won all 13 of its matches against non-conference foes during the regular year.
Illinois started out slowly in doubles play, but it didn't end up costing them this evening. Sixteenth-ranked Brian Wilson and Rajeev Ram, playing on Court 1, boosted their season record to 10-3 with an 8-5 victory over No. 21 Bryan Fisher and Jason Hazley. In the No. 2 match, sixth-ranked Amer Delic and Michael Calkins coasted, 8-2, over Sebastian Rutka and Paul White; the UI duo moved to 23-5 on the year. And at No. 3, Chris Martin and Phil Stolt held off LSU's Brandon Nicholson and Peter Richman, 9-7.
"Several of our players, it seemed, were just going through the motions during doubles," said Tiley. "There was a lack of energy, a lack of a sense of urgency on their parts, although Brian Wilson did play well."
Things may have picked up for the Illini during singles, but Tiley still called the overall effort today "very average."
Wilson, playing at No. 1 this evening, had his way with Hazley, 6-1, 6-4, and took over the UI lead in singles victories this season-he's now 25-4. On Court 2, the 14th-ranked Ram came back from his only defeat as a collegian last weekend and won, 6-1, 6-4, over Fisher. Martin won his 14th match in a row, this one a 6-3, 6-3 decision at No. 5 over the Tigers' White. At No. 6, DeHeart, ranked No. 79, scored for the Orange and Blue when his opponent, Nicholson, was forced to retire with an ankle injury with DeHeart ahead, 3-2, in a third set tiebreaker. The Illini freshman won the opening set, 6-4, but lost the second set by the same score. Two Illinois players played super-tiebreakers in lieu of third sets, after the match was clinched. Delic, the fourth-ranked player in the nation, slipped past 52nd-ranked Peter Richman on Court No. 3, 6-3, 4-6, (10-7), but No. 122 Michael Calkins wasn't so fortunate. He fell, 2-6, 7-5, (10-8) to Rutka in the No. 4 singles match.
Tiley rested 13th-ranked Phil Stolt, in order to give Ryler DeHeart a chance to play this evening. Freshman Pramod Dabir sat the bench as well. He is likely to see action this weekend in one or both of the matches. If he wins in his next outing, it would give him 19 straight, which would break the record singles streak of 18 set by former Illini Graydon Oliver in 1999-2000.
"Although I was pleased with Brian (Wilson), Rajeev (Ram) and Chris (Martin) in singles, I didn't feel our team played as well as it should," said Tiley. "Two of our last three matches have been less than satisfying for me, not in terms of the outcome, but because of our quality of play. It may be because it's late in the season and we've done a lot of traveling, but we need to find a way to step it up. Because if we had been playing a team like Florida or California today, we very well might have lost."
No. 1 ILLINOIS 6 at No. 18 Louisiana State 1
SINGLES: 1. No. 8 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Jason Hazley (LSU) 6-1, 6-4 2. No. 14 Rajeev Ram (ILL) def. Bryan Fisher (LSU) 6-1, 6-4 3. No. 4 Amer Delic (ILL) def. No. 52 Peter Richman (LSU) 6-3, 4-6, (10-7) 4. Sebastian Rutka (LSU) def. No. 122 Michael Calkins (ILL) 2-6, 7-5, (10-8) 5. Chris Martin (ILL) def. Paul White (LSU) 6-3, 6-3 6. No. 79 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Brandon Nicholson (LSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-6 (ret.)DOUBLES: 1. No. 16 Brian Wilson/Rajeev Ram (ILL) def. No. 21 Bryan Fisher/Jason Hazley (LSU) 8-5 2. No. 6 Michael Calkins/Amer Delic (ILL) def. Sebastian Rutka/Paul White 8-2 3. Phil Stolt/Chris Martin (ILL) def. Peter Richman/Brandon Nicholson (LSU) 9-7
