April 11, 2004

The top-ranked Fighting Illini went the distance today against the 19th-ranked Buckeyes of Ohio State at the UI Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois kept its undefeated record intact with a 4-3 triumph, but the contest was not decided until the third set of the very last match. Ohio State, which has been ranked as high as No. 11 (highest in the OSU program's history) this season, drops to 15-3 overall and 5-1 in the conference with the loss. With the victory the Illini sit atop the Big Ten all alone with a 6-0 conference mark and a 21-0 record overall ledger. Illinois has now extended its NCAA record winning streak to 53 consecutive matches.

"It was just one of those matches that had a lot of character and fight," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley. "Of all of the teams we've played this year, I would rank OSU right up there as one of the best we've played."

For only the third time this season, the Orange and Blue dropped the doubles point. The lone win for the Illini came at No. 3 from the duo of Ryler DeHeart and GD Jones. They defeated Dennis Mertens and Brenton Contini, 8-3. In the other two matches, both Illini pairs made valiant comebacks but fell just short. The second-ranked duo of seniors Brian Wilson and Phil Stolt lost, 8-6, to No. 56 Jeremy Wurtzman and Joey Atas at the No. 1 spot. The loss snaps the tandem's eight-match winning streak. At No. 2, Michael Calkins and Chris Martin, ranked 24th nationally, saw themselves in a 6-2 hole early and pulled to within 7-5, but fell, 8-5, to Scott Green and Ross Wilson, ending their 10-match winning streak.

Down 1-0, the Illini entered singles play knowing they had to capture four of the six singles battles. The outcome looked bright for the Orange and Blue when the second-ranked Wilson beat the top-ranked Wurtzman in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, at No. 1. Wilson took control of the match early, starting 3-0 in the first set and 4-1 in the second, never allowing Wurtzman to catch up. The closest Wurtzman ever came to Wilson was in the second set when the score was 3-2. After Wurtzman won the fifth game in that set, Wilson never looked back, taking the last three games of the set. With the win, Wilson improves to 13-2 on the season.

"I take every match seriously, especially with it being my senior year and wanting to go to nationals," said Wilson. "Beating the No. 1 player is great, but I try to prepare the same for every match."

After Wilson tied the match at one apiece, Ohio State put Illinois' collective backs to the wall when the visitors took the next two matches at No. 6 and No. 4 to build a 3-1 lead. Stolt put the Illini back on track when he beat Joey Atas, 7-5, 6-4 at No. 2. With the Illini down 3-2, only the freshman, Jones, and Calkins were left on the court at No. 5 and No. 3, respectively. As two Illini already had lost their first sets, Jones faced a 5-3 deficit in his own first set to Mertens. In the 11th game on a break point in that first set, Mertens called a ball out, which the judge later over-ruled, giving Jones an important 6-5 lead. He then took the next game to win the first set, 7-5. The second set was just as exciting, with Jones victorious, 6-3, after falling behind 0-2 to start.

When Jones knotted the score at 3-all, every eye turned to Calkins and OSU freshman Chris Klingemann, who were in their third set with a 2-2 score.

"I think the only thing that I was really trying to do when I knew that I was the last match on the court was to stay in the present and stay with my game plan," said Calkins.

Calkins took the next two games for a 4-2 advantage. In the seventh game of the third set, Calkins had a 40-Love advantage which, with one more point, would have given him a commanding 5-2 lead. But he dropped the game, putting the score at 4-3. The match became riveting after the players traded the next two games. With Calkins down a point in the 10th, Klingemann was overruled for the third time, resulting in a point for Calkins that tied the game at deuce. (If a player is overruled three times in a match, by rule, the opposing player is awarded a point.) Calkins then won the next point which gave him advantage. After a short volley on the next play, Calkins dropped a shot with heavy backspin barely over the net that spun back, and Klingemann hit the net. The resulting point ended the match and gave the Illini the victory.

"It is obviously a great feeling to be the last match on and be able to pull through for your team," said Calkins. "I have to give credit to my teammates. I know Brian played well today, and Phil did a good job, and GD came through, and without those guys, we wouldn't really be sitting here talking."

The Illini will resume action next weekend when they travel to Michigan State on Saturday and Michigan on Sunday.

"I think today we've learned that we're beatable and vulnerable with teams that come out here and want it more," said Calkins. "I think that we are going to go back to practice this week and go to Michigan and Michigan State next weekend and really step it up a notch for the next month-and-a-half until the season is over with."

TODAY'S RESULTS:
at No. 1 Illinois 4, No. 19 Ohio State 3

DOUBLES:
1  #56 Jeremy Wurtzman/Joey Atas (OSU) def.  #2 Brian Wilson/Phil Stolt (ILL) 8-6
2  Scott Green/Ross Wilson (OSU) def. #24 Michael Calkins/Chris Martin (ILL)  8-5
3  Ryler DeHeart/GD Jones (ILL) def.  Dennis Mertens/Brenton Contini (OSU)    8-3
order of finish: 3, 2, 1

SINGLES:
1  #2 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. #1 Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU)       6-3, 6-2
2  #30 Phil Stolt (ILL) def.  Joey Atas (OSU)                7-5, 6-4
3  #104 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Chris Klingemann (OSU)    6-3, 3-6, 6-4
4  Devin Mullings (OSU) def. #117 Ryler DeHeart (ILL         6-3, 6-4
5  GD Jones (ILL) def. Dennis Mertens (OSU)                  7-5, 6-3
6  Ross Wilson (OSU) def. Pramod Dabir (ILL)                 6-4, 6-1