April 17, 2005

Urbana, Ill. - The class of 2005 finished senior weekend with a convincing 6-1 showing over visiting Wisconsin in front of 288 tennis fans at Atkins Tennis Center on Sunday. All three seniors saw action in helping improve their overall record to 108-9. The seniors are now just four shy of the school record held by last year's senior class (112-13). The Illini are now 18-3 and 8-0 in conference, while Wisconsin drops to 8-12 and 2-7 in Big Ten play. With today's victory, the Illini extend their winning streak to 47 against Big Ten opponents.

"It was a good result for us today, in terms of the number of matches won," associate head coach Brad Dancer said. "It was good to see Evan (Zeder) and Conner (Murnighan) on their senior day and continue to see Chris (Martin) get on track with his play."

It nearly went the other way early on, but the Illini held on for the 2-1 advantage in doubles to win the first point of the match. The Illini completely controlled the first doubles win of the day, as Pramod Dabir and Evan Zeder cruised to an 8-1 victory over Steve Guntly and Jordan Raemisch. Senior's Conner Murnighan and Chris Martin tried to secure a win in their last regular season home match, but came up short 9-7 to Jeremy Sonkin and Mark Weinig.

The deciding match in the doubles portion came down to the No. 1 position. Freshmen Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe, who entered the match 2-0 this season together, battled toe-to-toe against the Badgers top pair of Alex Kasarov and Lachezar Kasarov. Neither combination was able to find an edge, until the Illini pulled out the tie-breaker 8-6, winning the match 9-8.

After a semi-shaky performance in singles yesterday against Northwestern, the Illini were standing firm to reverse that today. Illinois' top three stepped up and took charge early. Anderson was superior in his meeting with Sonkin as he won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0. The 42nd-ranked freshman moves just one win shy (19-4) of being the fourth player to reach the 20-win mark this season. Sophomore GD Jones looked great in his straight set winner over Lachezar Kasarov, 6-1, 6-4, as he moved to 23-6 on the season and 7-0 in conference matches. DeHeart did not have it as easy as the other two, but managed to clean up Alex Kasarov in time to grab the fourth and clinching point for the Illini, winning 6-2, 6-7(4), 10-7.

Dabir was back on the court at No. 5 today and winning in his usual gritty and determined fashion. The California native dropped his first set 4-6 and trailed through part of the second set to Brian Ko. However, Dabir remained poised and it showed as he came back to win the second set in a tie-break (7-6,(1)) and finished the job in the super tie-break (10-8) in dramatic style.

"Pramod did a good job," Dancer said. "He didn't play his best tennis, but did a good job of staying mentally composed and that paid off for him in the tie-breaker."

Martin added another point at No. 6 with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Mark Weinig, after he trailed 5-3 in the second set. Martin enjoyed his second consecutive two-win weekend, moving his win streak to four and his overall record to 8-6. Freshman Monte Tucker nearly completed the blanking of the Badgers, but Felipe Bellido had just a little more in the end as he defeated Tucker 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 10-8.

"We have been fortunate to have a senior class with such a diverse group of personalities," Dancer said. "They each bring their own unique characteristics to the program and I think that is what makes them special."

Results
No. 4 Illinois 6, Wisconsin 1

Doubles:
1. K. Anderson/R. Rowe (ILL) def. Alex Kasarov/Lachezar Kasarov (WIS)       9-8(6)
2. P. Dabir/E. Zeder (ILL) def. Steve Guntly/Jordan Raemisch (WIS)          8-1
3. Jeremy Sonkin/Mark Weinig (WIS) def. C. Murnighan/C. Martin (ILL)        9-7
Singles:
1. No. 5 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Alex Kasarov (WIS)       6-2, 6-7(4), 10-7
2. No. 42 Kevin Anderson (ILL) def. Jeremy Sonkin (WIS)             6-4, 6-0
3. No. 33 GD Jones (ILL) def. Lachezar Kasarov (WIS)                6-1, 6-4
4. Felipe Bellido (WIS) def. Monte Tucker (ILL)         7-6(1), 6-7(5), 10-8
5. Pramod Dabir (ILL) def. Brian Ko (WIS)                  4-6, 7-6(1), 10-8
6. Chris Martin (ILL) def. Mark Weinig (WIS)                        6-1, 7-5