Dec. 2, 2004

Champaign, Ill. - This season the University of Illinois tennis team looks to continue its storied success with another host of top players among the best in the regional and national rankings. The recent Midwest regional rankings revealed what many have come to expect from the Illinois tennis program with five players among the region's top 30 players in singles. Ryler DeHeart topped the list at No. 1, GD Jones garnered No. 6, Chris Martin (No. 15), Pramod Dabir (No. 22) and freshman Monte Tucker rounded out the rankings at No. 30. In doubles, the duo of Jones and DeHeart was the only Illini pair ranked in the top 15, they landed at No. 2. The ITA national rankings will be released in January.

DeHeart's 18-1 record is now the best start of any player in the Tiley era. The previous best was a 17-1 start by Rajeev Ram in 2002-03. He is 10-1 against ranked opponents and 3-0 vs. top-10 challengers. The Florida native is also on an 11-match winning streak entering the spring. In November, DeHeart became 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.

Jones was not far behind DeHeart as he also had a fall semester to remember as he beat six ranked opponents, ending with a 9-4 record. The sophomore from New Zealand also teamed up with DeHeart to claim the ITA Midwest Doubles Championship and earned an invitation to the ITA National Indoor Championships. The duo ended the fall 11-3.

Martin endured an injury-riddled fall and was never able to put his full repertoire on display. The senior holds a 2-3 record this season. Dabir finished the fall on a strong note as he won the Big Ten Singles Consolation Championship in November and ended the first semester with a 9-7 record. The freshman, Tucker, exploded out of the gates with a 4-0 start at the beginning of the season and advanced to the third round of the Big Ten Singles Championship to wrap up his first semester. Tucker has a 6-3 record heading into the spring.

Singles
1) Ryler DeHeart, Illinois
2) Devin Mullins, Ohio State
3) Brian Hung, Michigan
4) Stephen Bass, Notre Dame
4) Joey Atas, Ohio State
6) GD Jones, Illinois
7) Jakub Praibis, Indiana
8) Avery Ticer, Minnesota
9) Jose Orozco, W. Michigan
10) Paul Rose, Purdue
11) Chris Klingeman, Ohio State
12) Andy Formanczyk, Michigan State
13) Damar Johnson, Louisville
14) Barry King, Notre Dame
15) Chris Martin, Illinois
16) Tom Hanus, Northwestern
17) Wily Gali, N. lllinois
18) Sheeva Parbhu, Notre Dame
19) Patrick Buchanan, Notre Dame
20) Matko Maravic, Michigan
21) Brent D' Amico, Notre Dame
22) Pramod Dabir, Illinois
23) Octavian Nicodim, Louisville
24) Scott Green, Ohio State
25) Matt Baccarani, Ball State
26) Mike McCarthy, Indiana
27) Christian Tempke, Northwestern
28) Dennis Mertens, Ohio State
29) Mike Rubin, Michigan
30) Monte Tucker, Illinois

Doubles
1) Green/Wilson, Ohio State
2) Deheart/Jones, Illinois
3) Atas/Klingeman, Ohio State
4) Hung/Heller, Michigan
5) Eberly/Wilson, Ohio State
5) Fomanczyk/Rinks, Michigan State
7) Christian/Schaechterle, Northwestern
8) Baccarani/Thompson, Ball State
9) Markham/Taylor, lowa
10) Green/Mertens, Ohio State
11) Stone/Recht, Indiana
12) Radman/Clark, Louisville
13) Orozco/Crosby, Western Michigan
14) Damico/Lagenkamp, Notre Dame
15) Kennedy/Berrido, Louisville