Feb. 5, 2004

After a clean sweep over No. 48 Tulsa, the No. 1 Fighting Illini (4-0) advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA National Indoor Championships (USTA/ITA), in Seattle, Wash. The Illini improve their first round record at the USTA/ITA to 6-2, after a 4-0 victory this afternoon.

"It was very important for us to win," said Head Coach Craig Tiley. "Sometimes our players tend to overlook the first round. However, I was very happy with their performances today."

The No. 14 doubles duo of Chris Martin and Michael Calkins defeated Lucques Maasdorp and Aleksander Charpantidas 8-5. The other tandem that secured the Illini doubles point was Ryler DeHeart and Pramod Dabir, who beat Tom Murray and Diego Camacho 8-3. DeHeart and Dabir have yet to lose a doubles match this season.

During the tournament, play is stopped once the winner of the doubles point is determined. Singles play is halted after the winner of the match has been determined.

Entering the singles half, the Illini only needed three victories to secure a first round win. The 65th ranked DeHeart continued his unbeaten season (4-0), by defeating Aleksander Charpantidis, 6-1, 6-3. New Zealand native GD Jones defeated Tom Murray 6-0, 6-4 to improve his record on the early season to 3-0. Martin, ranked No. 47, was the third victor on the afternoon, beating his Golden Hurricane opponent (Shunsuke Shimizu) 6-2, 6-2.

Tomorrow the Illini will face their third top-25 opponent in four matches when they square off against No. 8 Duke. The Blue Devils defeated No. 9 Texas A&M 4-2 this afternoon. The Blue Devils and Aggies have battled two straight matches, with the Devils taking both. The Illini defeated Texas A&M two weeks ago, 4-3 at the Atkins Tennis Center. Duke brings in plenty of firepower having the No. 2 doubles team and No. 7 singles player Ludovic Walter.

"Tomorrow will be a different level of challenge for us," said Tiley. "It will be our toughest match of the year. We are going to need everyone to step up and play well."

Tomorrow's match will begin at 1 p.m. CT. It will be the second time that the Illini and Blue Devils have met in the in USTA/ITA, with Illinois winning the first match-up, 4-1 in 1997.

No. 1 Illinois 4, No. 48 Tulsa 0 For all complete bracket information visit www.itatennis.com or www.gohuskies.com

Singles:
1. Brian Wilson (ILL) vs. No. 93 Dustin Taylor (Tulsa)                           DNF
2. No. 39 Michael Calkins (ILL) vs. No. 57 Alejandro Tejerina (Tulsa)            DNF
3. No. 47 Chris Martin (ILL) def. Shinsuke Shimizu  (Tulsa)                      6-2, 6-2
4. No. 65 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Aleksander Charpantidis (Tulsa)               6-1, 6-3
5. GD Jones (ILL) def. Tom Murray  (Tulsa)                                       6-0, 6-4
6. No. 74 Pramod Dabir (ILL) vs. Federico Soriano (Tulsa)                        DNF

Doubles:
1. Phil Stolt/Brian Wilson (ILL) vs. Dustin Taylor/Alejandro Tejerina (Tulsa)                       DNF
2. No. 14 Michael Calkins/Chris Martin (ILL) def. Lucques Maasdorp/Aleksander Charpantidis (Tulsa)  8-5
3. Pramod Dabir/Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Tom Murray/Diego Camacho (Tulsa)                           8-3