Feb. 26, 2004

Behind 36 aces on "Ace the Irish Night," the Fighting Illini (11-0) rolled tonight by beating No. 43 Notre Dame 7-0 at the UI Atkins Tennis Center. With the victory, the Illini inch ever closer to Stanford's NCAA consecutive wins record of 45 matches-they're now just two short. Tonight's win was Illinois third 7-0 verdict in a row.

"The momentum is good; any time you can be dominant, no matter what the level of the opponent, you know you're on the right track.," said Associate Head Coach Bruce Berque. "We always talk to the guys about the fact that it's not just whether you win, but the way you do it. I think if we come out here and just go through the motions and still get the win, we're not really improving. The focus we try to have is to try and get better, do things the right way, and take care of business. From what I could see, we did a good job of that (tonight)."

With an 8-4 doubles win with partner Chris Martin, Michael Calkins reached another milestone when he moved into third place on UI's all-time doubles career win list with 108 victories. He is now just 10 victories away from tying Jeff Laski's school record of 118. Calkins continued his impressive night with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory in singles. After falling behind 5-3 in the first set, he never looked back, winning 10 of the last 12 games. Calkins is now only one singles win away from moving into the top five on Illinois' singles career win list. Calkins now has 107 victories in his career, and can reach the mark tomorrow against No. 27 Virginia.

"He has been a rock," said Berque. "Of the four guys that came in together on the year with Amer (Delic), Brian (Wilson), and Phil (Stolt), he has gotten the least notoriety, but he has been the one there every day consistent in practice, consistent in the match, and you always know what your going to get from him. I really think of the four guys he has been the one that has probably been a little under-appreciated, but not by the coaches."

The Orange and Blue started off on the right foot, with all three doubles teams winning. Besides Martin and Calkins' win, the eighth-ranked duo of Wilson and Stolt beat Brent D'Amico and Ryan Keckley, 8-5. In their third match as a doubles tandem, Ryler DeHeart and GD Jones have not missed a beat, winning all three, including tonight's 8-5 verdict over Paul Hidaka and Barry King.

In singles, Stolt, ranked 20th nationally, continued the Illini's winning ways by beating Scott in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 1. Martin (No. 67) defeated King, 6-3, 6-2. Jones' 6-2, 6-1 victory tonight over Keckley was his eighth in nine outings. Pramod Dabir carried his momentum from last weekend's 6-0, 6-0 win into tonight by beating Patrick Buchanan, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6. DeHeart, ranked 100th nationally, beat Bass 6-2, 6-1, to move his spring singles record to 9-0; he has won all but two sets in the process.

"I think I have made a lot of improvements," said DeHeart. "I have been working really hard in practice, and I think it has been paying off. It is great to see improvements, and I think I need to keep going after it and hopefully I keep getting better."

The Illini will be in action tomorrow night at Atkins Tennis Center when they play host to No. 27 Virginia. This will be the last time for fans to see the top-ranked Illini before they embark on a month-long road trip before returning home Apr. 10.

"If we don't get the job done tomorrow, we have to sit on it until April before we get another chance (at home)," said Berque. "We have had great crowd support so far this year, and it will be important to finish this home stretch on a good note. We defiantly want to keep it rolling and finish on a strong note and take that momentum on the road."

at No. 1 Illinois 7, No. 43 Notre Dame 0
Attendance: 250

Singles:
1. No. 20 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Matt Scott (ND)           6-3, 6-3
2. No. 54 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Brent D'Amico (ND)   7-6 (3), 6-1
3. No. 100 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Stephen Bass (ND)     6-2, 6-1
4. No. 67 Chris Martin (ILL) def. Barry King (ND)         6-3, 6-2
5. GD Jones (ILL) def. Ryan Keckley (ND)                  6-2, 6-1
6. Pramod Dabir (ILL) def. Patrick Buchanan (ND)          6-3, 6-2

Doubles:
1. No. 8 Phil Stolt/Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Brent D'Amico/Ryan Keckley (ND)      8-5
2. No. 18 Michael Calkins/Chris Martin (ILL) def. Matt Scott/Stephen Bass (ND)   8-4
3. Ryler DeHeart/GD Jones (ILL) def. Paul Hidaka/Barry King (ND)                 8-5