April 5, 2003
The top-ranked Fighting Illini men's tennis team didn't live up to its billing, but still came away from Columbus, Ohio with a 5-2 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes today. The win lifted Illinois' season record to 17-0 and its Big Ten mark to 5-0. It stopped OSU's win streak at four matches and knocked the Bucks out of the first-place tie with the Orange and Blue. Ohio State is now 14-5 overall, and 4-1 in conference competition.
Illinois scored the doubles point on the strength of victories on Courts 2 and 3. Fifth-ranked Michael Calkins and Amer Delic were 8-5 winners over Jeremy Wurtzman and Scott Green at No. 2, and Chris Martin and Phil Stolt won at No. 3, 8-5 over the Bucks' Phil Metz and Brenton Contini.. No. 47 Conor Casey and Ross Wilson upset Illinois' 31st-ranked combination of Brian Wilson and Rajeev Ram, 9-7, at the No. 1 spot.
The visitors' depth paid dividends on this day. Ohio State took the top two singles matches, but the Illini won at Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6. At No. 1, Illinois' sixth-ranked Stolt lost for only the third time all year; his season record dropped to 23-3 following his 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 loss to OSU's 47th-ranked Vincent Ng. In the No. 2 match, Ram, the UI freshman phenom, finally tasted defeat in singles for the first time as a collegian. The lanky freshman, ranked No. 16, fell 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, to Wurtzman, the Ohio State junior, the 18th-ranked player in the nation. Ram's singles record goes to 15-1.
The Illini ruled the rest of the way with straight-set wins. No. 7 Brian Wilson dispatched Metz in the conflict at No. 3. The fourth-ranked Delic, just back with the team after his appearance as an amateur earlier this week at the River Oaks Invitational (a pro exhibition event in Houston), took care of Casey, 7-6 (0), 6-2 in the No. 4 battle. On Court 5, Calkins got the best of Contini, 6-3, 6-2. And Martin won his 11th straight singles match, a 6-0, 6-4 decision over Dennis Mertens.
"I was pleased that we won the match, of course," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley, "but there weren't a lot of positives for us today. "The conditions were tough on those four indoor courts, and Ohio State played very well against us, as they always do. I didn't think our players responded very well, overall. Chris Martin did a good job in both singles and doubles, and Brian Wilson was good in singles, but other than that, we did a poor job today. If we don't improve on how we played today, we'll have a very rough finish to our season."
Illinois moves on to State College, Pa., where it will compete against Penn State tomorrow. The Nittany Lions come into tomorrow's match 13-5 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play after their 4-3 home loss to Purdue this afternoon.
No. 1 ILLINOIS 5, at No. 25 Ohio State 2
SINGLES:
1. No. 47 Vince Ng (OSU) def. No. 6 Phil Stolt (ILL) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6
2. No. 18 Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU) def. No. 16 Rajeev Ram (ILL) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. No. 7 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Phil Metz (OSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. No. 4 Amer Delic (ILL) def. Conor Casey (OSU) 7-6 (0), 6-2
5. Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Brenton Contini (OSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Chris Martin (ILL) def. Dennis Mertens (OSU) 6-0, 6-4
DOUBLES:
1. No. 47 Conor Casey/Ross Wilson (OSU) def. No. 31 Brian Wilson/Rajeev Ram (ILL) 9-7
2. No. 5 Amer Delic/Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Jeremy Wurtzman/Scott Green (OSU) 8-5
3. Phil Stolt/Chris Martin (ILL) def. Phil Metz/Brenton Contini (OSU) 8-5
