April 2, 2003
Coach Craig Tiley's Illinois men's tennis team makes its first Big Ten road trip of the season this weekend. The Orange and Blue, ranked No. 1 in the nation for the sixth consecutive week, will travel to Columbus, Ohio to face No. 25 Ohio State Saturday (9:30 a.m. CST) and then on to State College, Pa., where the team will square off with No. 62 Penn State in a 10 a.m. (CT) contest.
The Fighting Illini and the Buckeyes are the co-leaders in the Big Ten with 4-0 records. The Nittany Lions enter the week in the middle of the pack; they are 2-2 in conference competition.
Although Illinois is undefeated and has been playing spectacular tennis this season, Tiley expects his athletes won't be looking past this weekend's opponents.
"The Ohio State program has been improving quote a bit during the last few years," said Tiley. "Our players certainly remember that they are the only Big Ten team to have beaten us since 1997 (conference tournament final in 2001). On Sunday, we will try to give some of our less experienced players the opportunity to compete. We're excited to be making the trip to Ohio State and Penn State."
The Buckeyes have won nine of their last 10 matches, including their last four. OSU is coming off an upset win at Indiana last weekend. They have a very capable squad, led by a pair of ranked singles players, No. 18 Jeremy Wurtzman and No. 47 Vince Ng. Although UI freshman Rajeev Ram is undefeated as a collegiate singles player, Ng defeated him, 7-6, 6-3, in the championship match of the Milwaukee Classic in early January before Ram had enrolled at Illinois.
Ram and Ng could likely face each other again in the No. 1 singles match on Sarturday.
Penn State is 11-3 overall in 2003; the Nittany Lions are coming off a 6-1 loss at Indiana last weekend that broke their eight-match winning streak. PSU hosts Purdue Saturday, the day before the Illini play in State College. The Lions don't have any ranked players on their roster.
The Fighting Illini are rolling up some impressive numbers this season. Freshman Pramod Dabir has won 17 singles matches in a row. He is just one victory away from the school record of 18 straight triumphs, set by Graydon Oliver three seasons ago. Phil Stolt and Michael Calkins lead the Orange and Blue with 23 wins apiece this season; Stolt has had only two singles losses, and Calkins has had just four. Other 20-match winners include: Brian Wilson (22-4), Ryler DeHeart (22-7), Amer Delic (21-4), and Dabir (20-4). Other singles win streaks for the Illini include Ram (15) [he is 15-0 as a collegian], Stolt (13), Brian Wilson (11), Chris Martin (10), Calkins (9) and Amer Delic (7).
As a team, the Illini have outscored their opponents, 96-6, in dual matches (28-0 in Big Ten contests).
Illinois could possibly be without the services of Delic on its trip this weekend. The fourth-ranked junior is competing this week as an amateur in the River Oaks Invitational at Houston, Texas, for the second year in a row. Delic lost in the first round of the exhibition, non-tour event last year, but he started out strong yesterday with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Brendan Evans of the U.S.A. He is competing today with James Blake, a Top-30 player. His status for the Ohio State match Saturday will be determined by the number of rounds he plays in down in Houston.
"We're excited for Amer to have secured his first win down there," said Tiley. "It gives him a great opportunity to play in a showcase match tonight. Amer is playing well; his ankle is back at 100 percent. I know he's enjoying the chance to compete against some of the top players in the world."
Ram, who was selected the Big Ten Player of the Week last week, will be headed to the West Coast to compete in a professional event. He will leave from Columbus Saturday after the Ohio State match to head for Calabasas, Calif. and play in a Challenger tournament. Ram will miss the Penn State match, but may be back in action for the Illini April 10 when the team competes at Louisiana State, depending on his fate in the California tourney.
The Fighting Illini conclude their regular-season home slate the following weekend when Michigan and Michigan State come to the Atkins Tennis Center (April 12-13). They then head to Indiana and Purdue April 19 and 20 before preparing for the Big Ten Tournament, which will be held in Evanston, Ill., April 24-27.
