April 25, 2004
On Senior Day the Fighting Illini men's tennis seniors finished in grand fashion with a 7-0 victory over No. 59 Indiana at the UI Atkins Tennis Center to improve to 25-0 overall and 10-0 in conference play. With the win, the Illini are outright Big Ten regular season champions for the eighth consecutive year. Illinois is now 25-0 on the season and will enter the Big Ten Tournament next weekend riding an NCAA record 57-match winning streak. Today the Illini registered their 12th shutout of the season.
Between singles and doubles play, Illinois said good-bye in a brief ceremony to one of the greatest recruiting classes in the history of college tennis. Michael Calkins, Phil Stolt, and Brian Wilson were all honored this afternoon. Since stepping on Illinois' campus, this group has led the Orange and Blue to two USTA/ITA National Indoor (team) Championships and one NCAA team title, as well as producing one NCAA singles crown (Amer Delic), one NCAA doubles championship (Brian Wilson-Rajeev Ram), one Big Ten titlist (Michael Calkins), and one Midwest Regional singles winner (Phil Stolt).
"As a group, these were four guys (including current pro Amer Delic) who were extremely talented; and they all have gotten along and there have been no egos involved," said Associate Head Coach Bruce Berque. "They really are a close-knit group. They're friends and they push each other, which is pretty rare especially in the tennis world, which tends to be a more selfish and individually oriented."
"They should feel proud about what they've done on the court, but also really proud of what their going to do when they leave here," continued Berque. "They have all grown with their games and as people."
The seniors came out hot in doubles, with Calkins teaming with junior Evan Zeder to dominate Indiana's duo of Tom Bagnato and David Bubenicek, 8-0, at No. 3. After a tie at one game apiece, the fourth-ranked duo of Wilson and Stolt went on a tear to win, 8-3, over Neil Kenner and Ryan McCarthy at No. 1. To finish off the sweep and extend their unbeaten streak (10-0 this spring), the righty-lefty combination of GD Jones and Ryler DeHeart, ranked 54th nationally, defeated Ryan Recht and Dmytro Ishtuganov at No. 2. The duo was in a close battle early, but after a tie at 4, the Illini tandem didn't lose another game and went on to win, 8-4.
Coming of their doubles win together, Wilson and Stolt finished their home regular-season) careers in a dream fashion by serving up aces. Wilson (18-2, 9-0), ranked No. 1 nationally, dispatched Recht 6-1 in the first set, but fell behind, 4=3, in the second before rebounding and winning 6-4, and giving Illinois a commanding 3-0 lead. Stolt (No. 36) proved to be the clinching victor with an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kenner at No. 2. Stolt is now 15-5 on the season and 8-1 in the conference and has won eight out of his last nine matches. Calkins followed suit and won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, over Bagnato. Calkins leads the team in victories with a 27-9 mark.
"I was very pleased with how we played today," said Stolt. "Something I have been working on is to be more aggressive, especially in the last 10 days, ever since I lost that Michigan match. I think I have really turned things around, and hopefully this is an upward slope for the big time of the season when the team is going to rely on me to get a big point."
Zeder remained perfect this dual-match season, improving to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten. He hasn't lost since last October 25 when he dropped a match to Ohio State's Jeremy Wurtzman in the ITA Midwest Regional Championships. Today he fell behind only once in the entire match when he trailed Ishtuganov, 2-1, in the first set, but eventually won in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. After losing 7-5 in the first set and winning, 6-4, in the second, Jones put the icing on the cake with a 10-5 third set super tie breaker. He is now 19-3 and 8-1 in the conference.
Illinois' next match will be Friday when the team plays in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament at East Lansing, Mich. The Illini will be vying for their seventh Big-Ten Tournament championship in the last eight years and their third in a row.
TODAY'S RESULTS:
at No. 1 Illinois 7, No. 59 Indiana 0
Singles:
1. No. 1 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. Ryan Recht (Ind) 6-1, 6-4
2. No. 36 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Neil Kenner (Ind) 6-1, 6-2
3. Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Tom Bagnato (Ind) 6-3, 6-3
4. No. 113 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. David Bubenicek (Ind) 6-0, Ret.
5. GD Jones (ILL) def. Ryan McCarthy (Ind) 5-7, 6-4, (10-5)
6. Evan Zeder (ILL) def. Dmytro Ishtuganov (Ind) 6-4, 6-3
order of finish: 4, 1, 2, 3, 6, 5
Doubles:
1. No. 4 Brian Wilson/Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Neil Kenner/Ryan McCarthy (Ind) 8-3
2. No. 54 Ryler DeHeart/GD Jones (ILL) def. Ryan Recht/Dmytro Ishtuganov (Ind) 8-4
3. Michael Calkins/Evan Zeder (ILL) def. Tom Bagnato/David Bubenicek (Ind) 8-0
order of finish: 3, 1, 2
