March 17, 2005

South Bend, Ind. - The third-ranked Illini men's tennis team took the court for the first time in 10 days as they returned with a 6-1 victory over No. 16 Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. The Orange and Blue moved to 11-1 overall on the season with the victory and now have now won ten of the last 11 against the Fighting Irish.

"I thought the team did a great job today after being off for ten days and playing on the road against a dangerous Notre Dame team," Illinois head coach Craig Tiley said. "Today was pleasing because now we are in a good position going into next week's tough trip to California. It was also terrific to have Chris Martin back playing as he played doubles today."

The Illini welcomed a familiar face and a familiar pairing in doubles play. Senior Chris Martin made his dual-season debut against the Irish, as he paired with freshman Brandon Davis to give the Illini an early boast as they were the first pair to finish with an 8-5 win over the Irish's Barry King and Stephen Bass. A little change in the doubles lineup brought Ryler DeHeart and GD Jones back together as they are ranked No. 5 in the nation when together, grabbed a win at the No. 1 position, 8-2 against Brent D'Amico and Ryan Keckley. Notre Dame's tandem of Eric Langenkamp and Sheeva Parbhu were out done by freshmen Pramod Dabir and Kevin Anderson, 8-5 at No. 2.

A pair of freshmen put the Illini in prime position as singles started. Playing No. 1 for the third time this season, Anderson put the Illini up 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-4 straight set victory over Stephen Bass. Anderson improved to 14-1 (3-0), while his classmate, Monte Tucker also improved in the win column by defeating Sheeva Parbhu 6-2, 7-5 to give the Illini a 3-0 cushion. No. 4 DeHeart is now 28-6 (3-0) on the season after he took care of Brent D'Amico in three sets 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.

No. 33 GD Jones returned with a 7-6 (0), 6-3 victory over Barry King in the No. 3 position. Jones now moves to 16-5 on the season, winning his last four contests. Gonzales wrapped up the sixth point with a tight three-set match 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

Illinois will be off to the races with some of the nation's elite next week as they hit the West Coast to face No. 9 USC, No. 12 Pepperdine and No. 10 Stanford. The Illini start off against No. 9 USC on Tuesday, March 22 at 5 p.m., then are on to face No. 12 Pepperdine on Friday, March 29 at 1 p.m., before they finish the trip at No. 10 Stanford on the following Tuesday, March 29 at 1:30 p.m.

Final Results No. 3 Illinois 6, No. 16 Notre Dame 1

Singles:
1. #18 Kevin Anderson (ILL) def. Stephen Bass (ND)       6-1, 6-4
2. #4 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Brent D'Amico (ND)        6-2, 5-7, 7-5
3. #33 GD Jones (ILL) def. Barry King (ND) 	             7-6 (0), 6-3
4. Monte Tucker (ILL) def. Sheeva Parbhu (ND) 	          6-2, 7-5
5. Irackli Akhvlediani (ND) def. Pramod Dabir (ILL)      4-6, 7-5, 6-3
6. Ruben Gonzales (ILL) def. Patrick Buchanan (ND) 	     6-2, 5-7, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3, 5, 2, 6

Doubles:
1. #5 Jones/DeHeart (ILL) def. B. D'Amico/Ryan Keckley (ND)     8-2
2. Dabir/Anderson (ILL) def. Eric Langenkamp/S. Parbhu (ND)     8-5
3. Davis/Chris Martin (ILL) def. B. King/S. Bass (IU)	          8-5
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2