May 23, 2004
Photo Gallery
The last time that the Illinois' men's tennis team faced Vanderbilt, the Orange and Blue were crowned NCAA champions following a 4-3 victory in Athens, Ga., a year ago. This time around, the top-ranked Fighting Illini beat the Commodores, 4-0, to move into tomorrow's semifinal. The Illini are just two wins away from taking back-to-back championships. Just like a year ago, today's win against Vanderbilt moved Illinois' season record to 32-0.
"Yesterday we had a conversation at the end of the match (against Harvard) that our team needed to play better, and they responded," said Illinois Head Coach Craig Tiley. "That's a very good Vanderbilt team. To beat Georgia and Mississippi, whom I think are two of the very best teams in the country, they're good; and to be in the final eight, and for us to play the way I expect us to play--we did an awesome job tonight."
The official score sheet listed the time of the match as three hours and 30 minutes, but it took five-and-a-half hours to complete, due to a two-hour rain delay, from approximately 7:25 to 9:25 p.m. The Illini and the Commodores had to wait for the conclusion of the UCLA-Clemson match (the Bruins won, 4-0) before they resumed play indoors.
Outside, Illinois' duo of Ryler DeHeart and GD Jones jump-started the Orange and Blue toward capturing the doubles point, but it took all three matches for Illinois to get it. DeHeart and Jones started their match by breaking two of Vanderbilt's first three serves to take an early 5-1 lead. DeHeart, who was playing with a sore back, held all three of his serves as he helped the tandem capture the 8-4 victory over Matt Lockin and Nathan Sachs. The UI duo is now 18-1 this season. Michael Calkins and Chris Martin went down, 3-0, in their match and never mounted a serious challenge against Lewis Smith and Zach Dailey; they lost, 8-3.
All eyes then shifted to the match at No. 1 between Illinois' fifth-ranked tandem of Brian Wilson and Phil Stolt and Vanderbilt's 16th-ranked duo of Chad Harris and Scott Brown. In one of the best matches thus far in the tournament, both duos held serve until the tie-breaker. At 5-5 with Brown serving, the pair from Illinois went up, 40-15, and had a golden opportunity to break, but failed, and allowed Vanderbilt to take a 6-5 lead. The teams then traded points until the match was knotted at 8-8. In the tie-breaker, Stolt and Wilson found their groove, winning the first four points in the breaker, which they eventually went on to take, 7-3, and win the win match, 9-8 (3). The Illinois tandem improved to 22-4; the win was the seventh in a row for the two UI seniors.
Shortly after singles competition started, the rain started to fall.
"It's a little adjustment," said Calkins concerning the move indoors. "We were feeling good when we went indoors after starting off so well. The doubles point was huge, and we got off to a good start in singles. It's not that big of an adjustment for us because we are used to going either outdoors or indoors. It's not a matter so much of the elements, but it's more about sticking with your plan and your technique."
After the long delay, Wilson, the nation's top-ranked player, earned redemption from last year's championship match when Harris won, 2-6, 6-1, 7-5. Today Wilson beat the No. 31 Harris in straight sets to give Illinois its first singles point. Jones boosted the Illini lead to 3-0 with his victory at No. 6. After leading, 5-1, in the first, he hit a small bump in the road and allowed Sachs to climb back to 5-5 before Jones broke Sach's serve to pull ahead, 6-5, and then take the set, 7-5. He then breezed through the second, winning, 6-1. For the second day in a row, Calkins delivered the clinching blow to the opposition. Today he beat No. 99 Zach Dailey, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4 to put the 4-0 Illinois victory in the books while improving his team-best singles record to 32-9. Calkins also beat Dailey in the title match a year ago by the score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.
"We feel we are the best in the country, as far as technique and overall game," continued Calkins. "When you have good technique, the elements don't really matter. We stuck to our game plan and everyone did a good job."
Tomorrow's semifinal will be only the fifth time in NCAA history that all four top seeds advanced to the semifinal round (No. 1 Illinois, No. 2 USC, No. 3 Baylor, No. 4 UCLA). All four of today's quarterfinal matches had 4-0 scores, which has never happened before in NCAA Tournament history. In the semifinal round tomorrow the Orange and Blue will have a rematch against the Bruins, whom the Illini beat, 4-0, in Seattle, Wash. in February to capture the National Team Indoor title. UCLA has a new look since the April eligibility of junior Luben Pampoulov took effect; the Bruins are 10-0 since he began playing. Tomorrow's match will also feature a duel at No. 1 between Illinois Wilson, the top-ranked player in the nation, and UCLA's Tobias Clemens, ranked No. 7. Scheduled start time for the semi-final tilt is 5 p.m. CDT.
Today's NCAA Quarterfinal Results:
#1 seed Illinois 4, unseeded Vanderbilt 0
DOUBLES:
1 #5 Brian Wilson/Phil Stolt (ILL) def.#16 Chad Harris/Scott Brown (VAN) 9-8 (3)
2 Lewis Smith/Zach Dailey (VAN) def. Michael Calkins/Chris Martin (ILL) 8-3
3 Ryler DeHeart/GD Jones (ILL) def. Matt Lockin/Nathan Sachs (VAN) 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
SINGLES:
1 #1 Brian Wilson (ILL) def. #31 Chad Harris (VAN) 7-6 (3), 6-3
2 #51 Phil Stolt (ILL) vs. #75 Scott Brown (VAN) DNF
3 #121 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) vs. #103 Matt Lockin (VAN) DNF
4 Michael Calkins (ILL) def. #99 Zach Dailey (VAN) 6-4, 6-4
5 #95 Chris Martin (ILL) vs. Lewis Smith (VAN) DNF
6 GD Jnes (ILL) def. Nathan Sachs (VAN) 7-5, 6-1
order of finish: 1, 6, 4
