Feb. 22, 2005

Champaign, Ill. - The Fighting Illini men's tennis program has had a lot of success in recent years and today they became a little more successful. Junior Ryler DeHeart became the second Illini player to ever hold the No. 1 position in the ITA rankings in singles. Last season, Brian Wilson became the first player to own the honor, taking the top-spot on April 20th. Sophomore GD Jones and freshman Kevin Anderson both found themselves in the top-15 as well on Tuesday, as Jones was No. 14, while Anderson followed at No. 15. This is the second time in school history that the Illini have had three players in the top-15. In 2003, the Illini had Amer Delic (No. 4), Rajeev Ram (No. 14) and Phil Stolt at No. 6. Freshman Monte Tucker reentered the rankings at No. 78 after being ranked in the fall.

"This is a big accomplishment for our program to have three guys ranked in the top-15," said head coach Craig Tiley. "Obviously the team has done well so far, but these rankings really show where they're at this stage in the season. We're excited for Ryler to have this kind of honor, for the fact of what he has accomplished to this point."

Earlier this fall, DeHeart became only the second unseeded player in the last 10 years of the 26-year history of the ITA National Indoor Championships to win the singles title. He also won the ITA Midwest Regional Singles Championship just to qualify for the National Indoor. DeHeart's fall record was an outstanding 18-1, going 10-1 against ranked opponents and was 3-0 vs. top-10 challengers. This spring, DeHeart struggled a bit in the early stages, but has quickly rebounded since, beating four ranked opponents and currently owns a 24-6 record overall.

Jones had a good showing earlier this season going 9-4 with a 6-2 record against ranked foes, while being ranked No. 111. After battling shoulder problems this fall, Jones should be ready to go after showing great results back home in New Zealand, as he qualified for the Auckland Open. Since returning to Champaign this spring, Jones has never looked better, going 6-1 and in his last match defeated defending national champion from Baylor Benjamin Becker at the National Team Indoor Championship in Chicago. Jones is 15-5 overall this season.

"It's been nice to see GD move up so high in the rankings and then you have Kevin, who is still undefeated," Tiley said. "We're pleased at where they are so far this season and it looks like they are well on track for more success the rest of the season."

Anderson has been nothing short of brilliant since his arrival to the Heartland. Playing mostly at the No. 3 position, the freshman has gone 11-0 and has defeated six ranked opponents in the stretch. Those six ranked opponents have all come in his last six matches, with the last two being his highest ranked foes at No. 28 and No. 11.