Nov. 7, 2004

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Junior Ryler DeHeart's amazing run at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at the University of Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. is one many in college tennis do not usually see from the No. 95 player in the country. DeHeart becomes only the second unseeded player in the last 10 years of the 26-year history of the ITA National Indoor Championships to win the singles title. The once unheralded DeHeart has now etched his name into elite status among the Orange and Blue greats after becoming the first Illini to win this prestigious event.

"I came into this thinking it was possible to do well," said DeHeart "I don't look at the seedings or the rankings, I just play."

The Florida native not only played well, he played some of the best tennis of his life. DeHeart, who had defeated four top-60 players in the ITA rankings, including two top-10 opponents in this tournament, faced the No. 3 player in the country and third seed Jesse Witten from Kentucky in the final. Witten, who is one of the nation's premier players and claimed victory over No. 2 Sam Warburg of Stanford in the semifinal, looked to be on his way to the biggest victory of his career. However, it would be DeHeart that would soon be on his way to the National Championship. He jumped on Witten early grabbing the first set in a no-doubter by the score of 6-1. In the second set, the junior continued with his unmatched play, sealing the victory 6-4.

The modest Illini was happy to finish strong, but is not satisfied knowing the improvement he still can make.

"It feels good to be done, it's always nice to finish strong like I did today," said DeHeart. "I'm feeling real good right now about my game. However, I'm going to continue to work on things to get better and hopefully keep this going."

The Championship triumph moved DeHeart to an outstanding 18-1 record this season. His 5-0 performance against ranked opponents this week improved his season mark to 10-1 and is now 3-0 vs. top-10 challengers. He is also on an 11-match winning streak since falling exactly a month ago on Oct. 7 against No. 43 Pierrick Ysem of San Diego.

Associate head coach Brad Dancer feels DeHeart's game has risen to a special level.

"To play at this level you have to have the combination of staying composed and have the physical intensity to perform, and he has that right now," said Dancer. "His game was absolutely relentless all week. It was a dog fight all week just to get to this point and then today it was like he was Roger Federer the way he had control."

It was a great weekend for the Big Ten across the board as the doubles title went to the impressive top-seed Ohio State duo of Scott Green and Ross Wilson who also won last month's ITA All-American Championships.

ITA National Indoor Final
No. 95 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. No. 3 (3) Jesse Witten (Kentucky); 6-1, 6-4