April 23, 2004
On an evening during which two Illinois school records were broken, the top-ranked and undefeated Fighting Illini (24-0, 9-0) beat No. 62 Purdue (9-11, 4-5), 7-0 at the UI Atkins Tennis Center. With the win, the Illini extend their home winning streak against the Boilermakers, which hasn't seen them win in Champaign-Urbana since April 2, 1986. The victory assures Illinois at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title for the eighth consecutive year; the Orange and Blue can claim the honor outright Sunday with a win against Indiana.
"We did a good job today," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley. "Our goal was to have everyone get better toward the end of the season, and I saw that today. We had some adversity, and guys stepped up like they have for the past two years."
The adversity to which Tiley referred was the fact that the team had only six players at full strength available for duty. Junior Chris Martin's back is getting better, and Tiley said that there is an outside chance he could play on Sunday. Sophomore Pramod Dabir has a "hot spot" on his upper right arm (he is right-handed) that may or may not turn into a stress fracture, so Tiley left him on the bench as a precautionary measure. Reserve junior Conner Murnighan is still recuperating from a knee problem.
Teaming with junior Evan Zeder for an 8-5 doubles victory, Michael Calkins broke a pair of Illinois school records tonight. He now has 119 doubles victories, which breaks Jeff Laski's school record of 118 (1996-2000). With his match-clinching 6-1, 6-3 singles triumph over Sounak Chatterjee, Calkins has 236 overall victories (doubles and singles wins combined), which takes him past Oliver Freelove's 234 wins (1995-1999). Calkins is also approaching Gavin Sontag's singles record as well; he needs three to tie.
The other doubles victory came from the undefeated duo (11-0) of Ryler DeHeart and GD Jones. The tandem took the lead from the outset and sailed to an 8-5 victory over Chatterjee and Filip Koziell at No. 2. Illinois' lone loss came at the No. 1 spot. After falling behind, 7-1, the fourth-ranked senior duo of Brian Wilson and Phil Stolt made a valiant comeback to get within break point at 7-5, but fell, 8-5, to Troy Havens and David Robinson at No. 1.
"The other team (Havens and Robinson) played well and we didn't get a good start," said Tiley. "I give them a lot of credit; they played really well. Their coach does a good job coaching their doubles teams and they are always good in doubles."
It didn't take long for the two seniors to bounce back, as both were victories in the first two singles matches to finish. Wilson (17-2, 8-0), in his first match as the top-ranked player in the nation, showed no weak points as he won in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 over 117th-ranked Paul Rose at No. 1. Stolt (14-5, 7-1) was just as impressive in his match, which saw him climb to a lead of 4-2 in each set before winning 6-2, 6-3 over Troy Havens at No. 2.
At No. 3, DeHeart (24-10, 8-1) led, 4-3, in the first set, but then saw himself facing a 6-5 deficit before he won in a tie-breaker to take the set 7-6 (2). He finished off David Robinson, 6-4, in the second set to give the Illini a commanding 5-0 lead. Zeder improved to a perfect 7-0 this spring and 4-0 in the conference with his three-set win over Eric Hodgman. In the third set super tie-breaker the score was knotted at 10 when Hodgman double faulted, which Zeder took full advantage of to win the tie-breaker, 12-10, and the match 6-1, 4-6, (12-10). After losing the first set, 6-4, and winning the second, 6-4, Jones looked almost perfect in the super tie-breaker, winning 10-1 to provide the final point for Illinois and give them the 7-0 sweep over the Boilermakers
"His (Jones) tie-breaker is how he should play," said Tiley. "He is a feisty competitor, and if he doesn't play that way he doesn't play well, but he did a good job tonight."
When Illinois meets Indiana Sunday, the Illini will be celebrating the careers of three outstanding athletes on Senior Day--Calkins, Stolt and Wilson. A short ceremony will be held for the seniors shortly before the match begins at noon.
"I don't think we have much to prove this weekend-we just want to make a statement before the Big Ten Tournament," said Stolt. "We want to feel good about the last Big Ten home match and have a good performance because people always seem to remember the last match or the last thing you do in whatever field you're in. We want to leave on a good note."
TODAY'S RESULTS
at No. 1 Illinois 7, No. 62 Purdue 0
DOUBLES:
1 Troy Havens/David Robinson (PUR) def. #4 Brian Wilson/Phil Stolt (ILL) 8-5
2. #54 Ryler DeHeart/GD Jones (ILL) def. Sounak Chatterjee/Filip Koziell (PUR) 8-5
3. Michael Calkins/Evan Zeder (ILL) def. Paul Rose/Scott Warner(PUR) 8-5
order of finish: 1, 2, 3
SINGLES:
1. #1 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. #117 Paul Rose (PUR) 6-2, 6-2
2. #36 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Troy Havens (PUR) 6-2, 6-3
3. #113 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. David Robinson (PUR) 7-6 (2), 6-4
3. Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Sounak Chatterjee (PUR) 6-1, 6-3
5. GD Jones (ILL) def. Colin Foster (PUR) 4-6, 6-4, (10-1)
6. Evan Zeder (ILL) def. Eric Hodgman (PUR) 6-1, 4-6, (12-10)
order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 3, 6, 5
