No. 1 Illinois Blanks No. 25 Pepperdine 7-0
January 31, 2004 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 31, 2004
The Illinois men's tennis team continued its undefeated season (3-0) tonight with a win over No. 25 Pepperdine at Atkins Tennis Center. The Fighting Illini won by a margin of 7-0, which registers as the second shutout for the Illini in the early season.
"It was a convincing win tonight against a good team," said Head Coach Craig Tiley. "We started out slow in doubles, but then picked it up in singles."
Behind wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, the Illini captured the doubles point. In the deciding match, Ryler DeHeart and Pramod Dabir dispatched their Wave opponent 8-5. After a tie at five points a piece, DeHeart and Dabir finished the match by winning three straight points, to secure an Illini 1-0 lead. The senior duo of Phil Stolt and Brian Wilson defeated the No. 7 ranked doubles team by a score of 8-3 at No. 1. Stolt and Wilson's match against No. 7 Calle Hansen and Pedro Rico was the second top-10 opponent in as many matches.
"We (Brian and I) wanted to make a statement going into Indoors that we are a tough doubles team to play," said Stolt. "We expect a high quality opponent every time we compete. We are still looking to mesh and to be even keel about who we are playing, and play as if our opponents aren't even ranked"
After beating the No. 7 doubles team, both Stolt and Wilson were greeted with ranked opponents in singles action. Both Illini broke serve in the third set to win their respective matches to earn the final two points for Illinois on the night. Stolt defeated No. 29 Calle Hansen 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-1. Wilson defeated No. 31 Pedro Rico 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Senior Michael Calkins, ranked 39th nationally, also won at No. 3 singles by defeating Alexis Rafidison 6-2, 6-3, to move his mark to 3-0 on the season.
The most impressive stat for the Illini may be that in the first three matches in the early season the Nos. 4, 5, and 6 spots for Illinois have yet to lose a match. In those three matches, six different Illini have won in one of the three positions. Tonight the victors were No. 47 Chris Martin, No. 65 DeHeart, and GD Jones. Martin defeated Alex Herrera 6-1, 6-1, at No. 4. At No. 5, DeHeart beat Scott Doerner 6-1, 6-4, and Jones won in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 over Richard Johnson at No. 6.
"That is one of the reasons why we have been as good as we have been," said Tiley. "It shows that our lineups have a lot of depth. We are also fortunate to have a large fan base, which I think the players enjoy playing in front of."
The Illini will resume action on Thursday, Feb. 5th in Seattle, Wash. for the National Team Indoor Championships. The Illini will face the 16th seeded Tulsa Hurricanes on Thursday morning.
at No. 1 ILLINOIS 7, No. 25 Pepperdine 0
Singles: 1. Brian Wilson (ILL) def. #31 Pedro Rico (Pepp) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 2. Phil Stolt (ILL) def. #29 Calle Hansen (Pepp) 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1 3. #39 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Alexis Rafidison (Pepp) 6-2, 6-3 4. #47 Chris Martin (ILL) def. Alex Herrera (Pepp) 6-1, 6-1 5. #65 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Scott Doerner (Pepp) 6-1, 6-4 6. GD Jones (ILL) def. Richard Johnson (Pepp) 6-2, 6-2Doubles: 1. Phil Stolt/Brian Wilson (ILL) def. #7 Calle Hansen/Pedro Rico (Pepp) 8-3 2. Scott Doerner/Alex Herrera (Pepp) def. #14 Michael Calkins/Chris Martin (ILL) 8-4 3. Pramod Dabir/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Kevin Borzenski/Alexis Rafidison (Pepp) 8-5
