Orange and Blue Primed For NCAA Tournament
May 11, 2005 | Men's Tennis
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May 11, 2005
Champaign, Ill. -
STATE OF THE ILLINI
Nearly two weeks ago, the Fighting Illini men's tennis team won their fourth straight Big Ten Tournament title on a Sunday afternoon in their backyard (Atkins Tennis Center) over the second-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, 4-2. With the victory, the No. 5 Illini earned the Big Ten's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, where they learned that the No. 5 seed had their name on it and they would be hosting the Quinnipiac Bobcats in the first round.
The Illini also learned they would host the First and Second round of the tournament for the seventh consecutive season at the Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois' first match against Quinnipiac will begin at 10 a.m. CDT, while the second match of the day between Notre Dame and Louisville will not begin before 1 p.m. CDT following the first match. Sunday's match will begin at 1 p.m. CDT at the Atkins Tennis Center.
TOURNAMENT SHOTS
• Illinois is making its 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA, which is
currently the 10th longest streak in the nation. Illinois only trails
national powers Duke, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Pepperdine,
Stanford, Texas, TCU and UCLA.
• Illinois has compiled a 20-8 (.714) record all-time in the NCAA Tournament. This is the fourth consecutive year Illinois has been the fifth overall seed or higher.
• Since 1999, when the NCAA expanded its field to 64 teams, Illinois reached the National quarterfinal in every year but 2001, including two consecutive Final Four appearances. Illinois' all-time series record in each of the NCAA Tournament rounds are:
1st round: 6-0 2nd round: 5-1 Round of 16: 5-3 Quarterfinal: 2-3 Semifinal: 1-1 Final: 1-0• Illinois is 10-1 in the past two years of the NCAA tournament. The Illini have also won at least three tournament matches, reaching the national quarterfinal, in four of the past five seasons.* Includes 1996-1998 when field was only 16 teams
• Illinois is 3-1 against Top Ten teams this year with wins against No. 3 Florida (7-0), No. 7 Georgia (4-0) and No. 8 Duke (5-2). The Illini have posted a 13-3 record against the 14 NCAA tournament teams it has faced this season.
• Illinois' all-time records vs. possible NCAA match-ups are:
Quinnipiac: 0-0 Notre Dame: 17-20 (1-0) Louisville: 2-0 Kentucky: 7-13 (1-1) Florida: 6-4 (1-0) Baylor: 2-2 (0-1)* This year's records are in parentheses
ILLINI SWEEP BIG TEN HONORS
For his outstanding12-1 Big Ten singles record and four victories over ranked opponents, Ryler DeHeart was awarded the Big Ten Athlete of the Year. For his exceptional performance during the season, DeHeart was awarded the seventh seed in the NCAA singles tournament, which garners him All-America honors for the first time in his collegiate career.
Sophomore GD Jones was also impressive in Big Ten play going 7-0, earning him the distinction of unanimous Big Ten All-Conference selection and a berth into the NCAA singles tournament. His most impressive wins have come against then No. 10 Adrians Zguns (Arkansas-Lafayette) and No. 25 Avery Ticer (Minnesota).
Kevin Anderson, who is currently 19-4 on the year and who garnered his first Big Ten honor as a Player of the Week in February, now has a few more to add from the Conference office. Anderson was honored with the Freshman of the Year award after going 5-2 in Big Ten play and was a unanimous selection for the All-Big Ten Conference team. Anderson will also compete with Jones and DeHeart in the NCAA singles tournament.
FIGHTING ILLINI HAND OUT ANNUAL AWARDS
The men's Most Valuable Player was awarded to the 2005 Big Ten Athlete of the Year, junior Ryler DeHeart. DeHeart is Illinois' second player ever to be ranked No. 1 in the nation in singles and takes a 39-9 overall record into NCAA Tournament play. His 39 wins are one shy of the all-time single season mark of 40 wins held by Gavin Sontag.
Senior Chris Martin won the GPA Award (3.82 in Finance); freshman Brandon Davis garnered the Strength and Conditioning Award; sophomore GD Jones was designated the "Player to Watch" for the second consecutive year; and freshman Ruben Gonzales earned distinction as the Most Improved Player. Martin also received the Fighting Illini Spirit Award.
MARTIN HONORED FOR SPIRIT
In honor of the amazing senior, head coach Craig Tiley and the men's tennis program announced that they will rename the Fighting Illini Spirit award to the Chris Martin Spirit Award. This was revealed at the 12th annual Advantage Illinois Tennis Awards Banquet on May 2.
MARTIN, ANDERSON WINNERS AT SCHOLAR-ATHLETE BANQUET
Chris Martin and Kevin Anderson came away with some more hardware at the 15th annual University of Illinois Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet, held at the Assembly Hall on May 3. Anderson won the Male Newcomer of the Year for his great debut season as Illini going 19-4. Martin was honored with the Fighting Illini Spirit Award and also was awarded the Oustanding Scholar-Athlete Award for his senior class.
LAST TIME OUT
The Illini failed to grab any momentum early in the match as they fell in doubles to one of the better doubles teams in America. Illinois' pair of GD Jones and Monte Tucker gave Ohio State's fifth-ranked duo of Scott Green and Ross Wilson all they could handle at No. 1. In a back-and-forth match, Jones and Tucker went game-for-game with the Buckeyes' duo, but the tandem of Green and Wilson pulled away late to win 8-5. Pramod Dabir and Ryler DeHeart also gave a valiant effort, but fell short to Chris Klingemann and Devin Mullings, 8-6 at No. 2.
In singles, GD Jones ran away at No. 2 with a dominant effort over Chris Klingemann in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. This was Jones' first victory of the tournament as his previous matches were abandoned. Next in line for the Illini was senior Chris Martin. Martin gave the Illini a 2-1 edge by winning his third straight set match of the Tournament against Ohio State's Drew Eberly, 6-4, 6-3. The senior has now won eight straight sets dating back to a match with Iowa on April 24th and improved to 12-7 overall on the season.
With the Orange and Blue holding a 2-1 edge, the Buckeyes responded with a convincing win of their own at No. 3. Freshman Monte Tucker had a tough task against the talented No. 59 Joey Atas. The Buckeye handled the Illini newcomer, 6-2, 6-3. At No. 4, freshman Ruben Gonzales put on a show for the Illini contingent. After losing the first set, the freshman displayed senior-like poise and responded with a convincing next two sets to win, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 against Ross Wilson of Ohio State. Gonzales improved to a striking 28-4 overall record with the victory and finishes 11-0 verses Big Ten competition on the season.
For the second consecutive year, the Fighting Illini looked to junior Ryler DeHeart to close it out. DeHeart, who provided the clinching match in last year's final against Ohio State, was at it again, this time against No. 57 Devin Mullings. The Florida native jumped out to a 6-4 first set victory over Mullings and it looked as if things were in control. However, the Buckeye sophomore responded. Mullings pulled it together in the second set, as he jumped out to a early 3-0 edge, but like so many times DeHeart was determined to answer back. DeHeart soon tied the set at 3-3 and from that point on began to break the Bahamas native down in swirling winds to take a 6-5 lead and go on to a 7-5 straight set winner.
ATKINS TENNIS CENTER HOME TO 2005 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
The Illini hosted the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 1998 this year. Illinois won the tournament that year and after this season's victory, has won eight of the last nine since 1997. This year's tournament marked the seventh time that the Orange and Blue have hosted the event. The first time they hosted the tournament was in 1954 where they finished fifth.
ILLINI RISE UP IN RANKINGS
The Fighting Illini men's tennis program has had a lot of success in recent years in the rankings and on February 22 the Illini continued the trend having three players ranked among the top-15 in the country including the school's second No. 1 player. 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 No. 1 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.
SENIOR EXCELLENCE
This year's senior class might not have the accolades like ones in the past, but in the end will go down as the winningest class ever in Illini tennis history. Seniors Chris Martin, Conner Murnighan and Evan Zeder have a recorded a record mark of 113-9 over their four years at Illinois. Last year's senior class of Michael Calkins, Phil Stolt and Brian Wilson held the old mark with a combined record of 112-13 over their four seasons. This year's seniors have now been members on four of the top six winningest teams in Illini history. They have won a National Championship, two ITA Indoor Championships, and four regular and tournament Big Ten titles. In their four years they have never lost to a Big Ten opponent, going 52-0 and are an outstanding 45-2 (.957) at Atkins Tennis Center. They also have been members of three different teams (2002, 2003 and 2004) to be ranked No. 1 in the ITA rankings.
Most Wins by Class
1. 2002-2005 113-9 (.926) 2. 2001-2004 112-13 (.896) 3. 2000-2003 105-16 (.868) 4. 1999-2002 101-20 (.835) 5. 1998-2001 96-21 (.821)
FAB FRESHMEN
This year's freshmen class was expected to be good and be major contributors down the line, but this year, this early? They've risen above and beyond anyone's expectations so far as they have played major roles in wins earlier this season against elite teams like Duke, Florida, Kentucky and Georgia. It was a first for Tiley against Texas on Feb. 5, as he played four freshmen (Anderson, Tucker, Gonzales and Rowe) in the singles lineup. That was the most freshmen Tiley has ever put on the court at one time in his 12-year tenure. Since that point, the majority of the four have been in the lineup nearly every match.
The four freshmen have a combined 53-15 (.779) record in singles in the dual-match season. Anderson has remained steady as he holds a dual season record of 16-4, Gonzales is a sparkling 21-1, while Rowe (6-3) and Tucker (10-7) have continued to play stellar tennis for freshmen, despite having been tripped up on a few occasions.
ANDERSON, JONES BIG TEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Sophomore GD Jones garnered his first Big Ten Player of the Week honor of his career after a great stretch against top teams No. 9 USC and No. 13 Pepperdine, March 23-25. Jones defeated No. 62 Drew Hoskins of USC on
Wednesday 6-2, 6-2 and finished the week taking down No. 81 Scott Doerner of Pepperdine 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.
Freshman Kevin Anderson garnered his first Big Ten Player of the Week honor after a successful weekend against national powers No. 9 Duke and No. 34 Texas earlier this season. Illinois won both matches 5-2. Anderson defeated his first two ranked opponents of his career on the weekend.
DOMINATING RANKED OPPONENTS
Under coach Tiley in his 12 seasons, the Illini have played 113 Top-25 opponents, going 73-40 (.646). The level of success against top-caliber opponents has grown since the 1999 season, to a tune of a .739 (65-23) winning percentage. In the past three years the Orange and Blue have been nearly unconscious against the rigid competition going 33-4 (.892). This season the Illini are 7-3 against the Top-25 and have played five of the current top-12 teams in the ITA rankings.
This season, Illinois has gone 4-1 against opponents in the top-10, which is tied for third best by any Illini team. Tiley's teams have gone 33-21 (.611) against the top-10 in his 12 years. Since the 2003 campaign, a season where they went 8-0 against top-10 foes, they are a combined 18-2 (.900).
vs. Top-25 vs. Top-10
1999 8-4 3-4
2000 9-4 2-2
2001 5-6 2-5
2002 10-5 4-3
2003 14-0 8-0
2004 12-1 6-1
2005 7-3 4-1
TILEY WINS NO. 250
The victory over the Ball State Cardinalsin the first match of the season gave12th year head coach Craig Tiley his 250thcareer win as an Illini. His record of 272-75 is good for a .784 winning percentage and since his presence at Illinois, the Illiniare 118-20 (.855) at Atkins Tennis Center.
In the last four seasons, the Illini are 113-9 under Tiley's direction and have only lost twice at home where their record is a remarkable 45-2.
THE STREAK ENDS
Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana has provedto be a seventh man for the Orange and Blue in recent years. The team rode an Illinois tennis record 38-match win streak that began after March 7, 2002, when the Illini lost to No. 6 Notre Dame in a nail-biting 4-3 defeat. The streak was in full
effect for nearly three years before the Illini fell to No. 19 Kentucky on Wed., April, 6, 2005, 4-3 to end the streak at 38. Over the 38 matches, the Illini defeated 28 ranked opponents and five top 10 teams.
ILLINI SWEEP ITA MIDWEST REGIONAL
In late October, Junior Ryler DeHeart and sophomore GD Jones did something no other Illini has been able to do and that was sweep the ITA Midwest Regional Championships in the same year at the University of Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. DeHeart singles championship was the first at the Regional since Phil Stolt won in 2002 and the doubles title made it two consecutive after Michael Calkins and Chris Martin won doubles last season.
Both victories earned an invitation to the National Indoor Tournament in November back in Ann Arbor.
DEHEART WINS NATIONAL INDOORS
Junior Ryler DeHeart's amazing run at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at the University of Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. is one many in college tennis do not usually see from the No. 95 player in the country. DeHeart becomes 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. The once unheralded DeHeart has now etched his name into elite status among the Orange and Blue greats after becoming the first Illini to win this prestigious event.
The Florida native not only played well, he played some of the best tennis of his life. DeHeart, who had defeated four top-60 players in the ITA rankings, including two top-10 opponents in the tournament, faced the No. 3 player in the country and third seed Jesse Witten from Kentucky in the final. The Championship triumph moved DeHeart to an outstanding 18-1 record at the end of the fall season. His 5-0 perform-ance against ranked opponents during the tournament improved his season mark at the time to 10-1 and is now 3-0 vs. top-10 challengers.
FIRST YEAR ASSISTANCE
Two new assistants joined head coach Craig Tiley for the 2004-05 season. Brad Dancer joins the staff as associate head coach, while Mark Edney is working as a volunteer assistant coach.
Dancer
Before arriving at Illinois, Dancer spent three years at Fresno State turning around the men's tennis program. After his first full
season, solid recruiting and a sound-coaching job helped Fresno State get back on track immediately in his second season recording a 17-8 record and an NCAA appearance, after going 7-16 in his first year.
Under Dancer, Fresno State moved up the national rankings and once again became a force in the Western Athletic Conference.
He led his Fresno State teams to two NCAA Tournament appearances and in 2003, his squad advanced to the second round, which was the farthest advancement in his tenure. That year, Fresno State went 18-9 and finished ranked 35th nationally. In 2004, Fresno State went 13-10 and lost in the first round of the WAC and NCAA Tournaments. Dancer compiled a 38-35 overall record from 2002-04.
The Michigan native spent two years as the University of Arizona women's tennis head coach. The team was ranked in the Top 25 both years of his tenure.
Dancer earned his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1993 from Michigan State University, where he played the No. 1 singles and earned All-Big Ten honors his senior year. He was a four-year Academic All-Big Ten selection from 1990-93, team captain and an NCAA qualifier his senior year. Dancer began his coaching career as an assistant at Michigan State from 1993-98 before leaving for Arizona.
Edney
Edney joins the Illinois staff this spring after spending the fall an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Edney has worked closely with head coach Craig Tiley for the past four summers, ranging from assisting him at the Indianapolis RCA Championships with Amer Delic, to working clinics for Prince and helped direct Nike Tennis camps in Champaign-Urbana.
The Melbourne, Australia native played collegiate tennis at three different schools between 2002-04. He played at Boise State and Louisiana Monroe, before he finished up at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock last spring. In 1999, he was ranked in the top 15 in Australia as a junior.
Edney graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in the spring of 2004 with a bachelor of science in health science, along with a minor in psychology. He plans to pursue his masters at Illinois in biobehavioral kinesiology.
ILLINI HOST FIRST ITA NATIONAL INDOOR EVENT IN CHICAGO
Defending National Indoor Champions, Illinois, hosted the 2005 USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship. This year's tournament ran February 17-20 at the Mid-Town Tennis Club in Chicago, and was arguably the biggest tennis event in the Windy City since the WTA was there in 1997. The last big men's tennis event held in Chicago was an ATP tour event in 1991.
The USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship is the premier indoor collegiate team tournament and is the ITA's longest running event. This was the first time Illinois will host the event in the tournament's 37-year history.
The National Indoor Championship Tournament was held at the award winning Mid-Town Tennis Club in the heart of downtown Chicago. Mid-Town is world's largest indoor tennis facility and the first tennis club built from the ground up in any major US city. Tennis Magazine has recognized Mid-Town as one of the premier tennis clubs in the country. The USTA named it the "Facility of the Year" in 2002 and 2003.
Unfortunately, the Illini could not be the second team to ever win the event three years straight. Illinois defeated No. 12 Kentucky 4-2 and No. 4 Georgia 4-0 through the first two rounds, before they fell to No. 1 Baylor in the semifinals, 4-3. Baylor went onto win the championship over No. 9 Virginia, 4-1.
