April 9, 2005
It did not take long for the second-ranked Illinois men's tennis team to regain its stride after a loss to Kentucky on Wednesday. Today's victim was the 75th-ranked Michigan State Spartans, who the Illini dominated 6-1 in East Lansing, Mich. GD Jones, Ryler DeHeart and Ryan Rowe all captured doubles and singles wins to help improve Illinois' season mark to a lofty 15-3 and 5-0 in the conference.
Today's victory dropped the Spartans to 11-9 (3-3) on the season and extended Illinois' winning streak against Big Ten opponents to 44 in a row. The win was the eighth for the Illini on the road this spring, compared to only one lose. Illinois now leads the all-time series 44-29 between the schools and has won 11 straight against Michigan St.
"We had an improvement in doubles today and played well in singles," said Illinois head coach Craig Tiley. "We were hungry to play again after our loss to Kentucky. The guys showed up with a lot more energy competing today. We look forward to finishing the road trip on a strong note tomorrow against Michigan."
The Orange and Blue came out strong, sweeping doubles competition. The duo of Evan Zeder (Miami, Fla.) and Rowe (Moline, Ill) captured Illinois' first victory on the day at No. 2. The Illinois' pair beat Michael Flowers and Cameron Marshall, 8-2. Underclassmen Kevin Anderson (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Jones (Auckland, New Zealand) followed suit at No. 1, dominating Andrew Formanczyk and Nick Rinks, 8-3. Pramod Dabir (Saratoga, Calif.) and DeHeart (Tampa, Fla.) overpowered the Spartan duo of Michael Flowers and Cameron Marshall, 8-2 to complete the sweep.
After the short intermission, Illinois continued firing on all cylinders, taking five of the six singles matches in straight sets. Rowe, put Illinois' second point on the board and finished his two win day with a straight set victory at No. 6. The Moline, Ill. native, beat Flowers, 6-2, 6-0 to improve to 4-2 this spring. Today was Rowe's first singles competition since breaking his hand March 5 against Indiana. Senior Chris Martin (Tulsa, Okla.) beat Monich 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4. The senior has won 3 of his last four for the Illini.
Ruben Gonzales (Terre Haute, Ind.) secured the victory for the Orange and Blue, tallying Illinois' fourth point at No. 3 against Rinks. Gonzales captured his first set 6-4 and breezed through the second, 6-0. Gonzales has been one of Illinois hottest young athletes going 21-4 this year, 15-1 in the spring and is 19-1 after winning his first set.
DeHeart, ranked fifth in the country wasn't to be out done, winning in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 at No. 2 over Marshall. DeHeart, in his first 30 win season of his career is now 32-8. Jones, completed the 6-1 victory after beating Michigan State's No. 1 player, Formanczyk 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1. Jones, has won nine of his last 10, with his only loss during the streak coming to Stanford's second ranked Sam Warburg. On the year, the New Zealand native is 21-6.
Tomorrow, Illinois will conclude its weekend trip with a trip to No. 65 Michigan. The Wolverines are 11-7 (4-1) and possess six players with 10 or more wins. The match is slated to begin at Noon.
April 9, 2005 Results
Illinois 6, Michigan State 1
Singles competition:
1. #33 GD Jones (ILL) def. Andrew Formanczyk (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
2. #5 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. Cameron Marshall (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
3. Ruben Gonzalez (ILL) def. Nick Rinks (MSU) 6-4, 6-0
4. Chris Martin (ILL) def. Adam Monich (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Joseph McWilliams (MSU) def. Pramod Dabir (ILL) 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8)
6. Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. Michael Flowers (MSU) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition:
1. Kevin Anderson/GD Jones (ILL) def. Andrew Formanczyk/Nick Rinks (MSU) 8-3
2. Ryan Rowe/Evan Zeder (ILL) def. Brian Compton/Adam Monich (MSU) 8-2
3. Ryler DeHeart /Pramod Dabir (ILL) def. Michael Flowers/Cameron Marshall (MSU) 8-2
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,4,3,2,1,5)
