April 7, 2004

The Fighting Illini men's tennis team (19-0, 4-0) beat the University of Kentucky tonight 4-3, in Lexington, Ky. at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on a 73-degree spring evening. After winning the doubles point, Illinois dropped the first two singles matches that finished, but then went on take the next three to squeak by with the victory. With the loss, the 17th-ranked Wildcats drop to 14-7 on the year.

"I think our guys did a great job of hanging in there tonight," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley. "At one point the match was slipping away from us, but the guys played extremely well to come back."

The right-handed-left-handed combination of Ryler DeHeart and GD Jones started the scoring for the Illini when they beat Tigran Martirosyan and Nate Emge, 8-2, in the match at No. 3. The 24th-ranked duo of Michael Calkins and Chris Martin clinched the doubles point for the Illini with an 8-6 victory at No. 2 over Evan Austin and Alex Hume. Calkins, who is currently second on the school's all-time doubles win list, moved within two victories tonight of tying the 120-win record set by Jeff Laski in 2000. Calkins could have a chance to tie the record this Sunday against Big Ten foe Ohio State. The highly touted duo of Brian Wilson and Phil Stolt, ranked second nationally, concluded the doubles portion of the match with a triumph over No. 14 Jesse Witten and Rahim Esmail.

With the Illini down 2-1 in the match, the freshman Jones (14-2) won the first singles point for the visitors with a straight-set 6-2, 6-3 win over Jason Mallaiah at No. 6. With the score tied 2-2, the 30th-ranked Stolt put the Fighting Illini ahead for good when he beat (No. 103) Martirosyan, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2. After dropping two straight matches on the spring break trip, Stolt has rebounded well to win his last three singles encounters and move within one victory of reaching the team's top-10 all-time singles win list. Calkins (No. 104) added to his team-leading total of wins to 22 today with the clinching victory over Evan Austin 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3.

"Michael (Calkins) was clutch for us tonight like he has been this entire year," said Tiley. "He is on the verge of winning more than any other player in the program's history, and I was very proud of his efforts today."

Illinois will have a short rest before returning to action this weekend when they play host to No. 56 Penn State on Saturday and No. 19 Ohio State on Sunday. The Illini and the Buckeyes are the lone unbeatens in the Big Ten, and the winner could be in the driver's seat for the regular season crown. Both matches will begin at noon with free admission.

"We have a long drive ahead of us tonight, but then we need to focus on Penn State and Ohio State for the weekend," said Tiley. "We know that one opponent is highly ranked and the other is going to be a big test for us."

On Sunday, Advantage Illinois, the booster club, will have a cookout starting shortly before the match and will provide free food for the fans. The student support group, the Net Nuts, will also have a tailgate party prior to the contest, and afterwards there will be an Easter egg hunt for the children in attendance.

Tonight's Results:
No. 1 Illinois 4 at No. 17 Kentucky 3

Singles
1. #8 Jesse Witten (UK) def. #2 Brian Wilson (ILL)          6-0, 6-2
2. #30 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. #103 Tigran Martirosyan (UK)   6-3, 6-4
3. #104 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Evan Austin (UK)         6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-2
4. Rahim Esmail (UK) def. #117 Ryler DeHeart (ILL)          6-2, 6-4
5. Alex Hume (UK) def. Pramod Dabir (ILL)                   3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7)
6. GD Jones (ILL) def. Jason Mallaiah (UK)                  6-2, 6-3

Doubles
1. #2 Phil Stolt/Brian Wilson (ILL) def. #14 Rahim Esmail/Jesse Witten (UK)    9-7
2. #24 Michael Calkins/Chris Martin (ILL) def. Evan Austin/Alex Hume (UK)      8-6
3. Ryler DeHeart/GD Jones (ILL) def. Nate Emge/Tigran Martirosyan (UK)         8-2