Oct. 8, 2006
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois men's tennis team put the finishing touches on a successful weekend at the Scott Treibly College Tennis Challenge in Bradenton, Fla., on Sunday afternoon.
Overall, the Orange and Blue did not relinquish a match in doubles action, while sophomore Marc Spicijaric and freshman Billy Heiser concluded the weekend perfect in singles contests.
In the final two days of action, the Illini dropped only one match, finishing the weekend 13-2 overall in singles and perfect in doubles tilts at 5-0.
"This was a very positive weekend for us," head coach Brad Dancer said. "We played well against some solid competition. The scoring format kept our guys on their toes, and was good practice for teaching the team that every point counts."
Spicijaric kicked off action taking down Jordan Dolberg of Florida, 10-9, before cruising through a 10-2 victory against Clay Donoto of Texas A&M on Saturday. In the final day of competition, the sophomore polished off a perfect weekend with a win against Karl Wishart of North Carolina, 10-7. In similar fashion, Heiser rolled through his two matches on Saturday, defeating Billy Mulligan of Florida 10-4, followed by a clean win over John Nallon of Texas A&M, 10-6. Heiser wrapped up the weekend on a winning note with a 10-7 defeat of Andrew Cone of North Carolina. Junior Brandon Davis started off action on the courts slowly with a 10-3 loss to Matt Bain of Texas A&M before getting things rolling with a victory over Geoff Barton of Florida, 10-6. Davis kept the run going on Sunday, downing Taylor Fogleman of North Carolina, 10-6. Overall, both Heiser and Spicijaric posted 5-0 singles records at the Challenge, while Davis recorded a 3-2 record on the weekend.
"Brandon rebounded to play his best tennis of the weekend on Sunday," Dancer said. "Marc and Billy did a good job of taking control and deciding the tempo of their matches all weekend. They played their matches on their terms and not the opponents. Billy continued to make strides in doubles and do some good things on return of serve. Overall, I would like to thank Scott Treibly for doing a great job at hosting this event."
In doubles action, Heiser and Davis joined together to take down Mulligan and Dolberg (FLA), 8-7, in the first tilt on Saturday morning. In the evening cap, Heiser took the court with Spicijaric to down Bain and Nallon (A&M), 8-1, in a strong performance for the Illini. In the final contest of the weekend on Sunday, Davis and Spicijaric put the final touches to an untainted doubles slate for Illinois, defeating Fogleman and Crone (UNC) 8-6.
The Illinois men's tennis team returns to the courts next weekend at the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational in Midland, Texas on Oct. 13-15.
TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Day 1: Friday, Oct. 6
Singles
Marc Spicijaric (ILL) def. Shane Collins (KY), 10-1
Marc Spicijaric (ILL) def. Paul Bishop (Armstrong State), 10-9
Billy Heiser (ILL) def. Kyle Virgin (KY), 10-3
Billy Heiser (ILL) def. Robert Jendelund (Armstrong State), 10-7
Brandon Davis (ILL) def. Alex Lambropouis (KY), 10-6
Henrik Lilja (Armstrong State) def. Brandon Davis (ILL), 10-8
Doubles
Spicijaric/Davis (ILL) def. Alex Lambropouis/Shane Collins (KY), 8-5
Spicijaric/Davis (ILL) def. Paul Bishop/Henrik Lilja, 8-6
Day 2: Saturday, Oct. 7
Singles
Marc Spicijaric (ILL) def. Jordan Dolberg (FLA), 10-9
Marc Spicijaric ILL def Clay Donoto (A&M), 10-2
Billy Heiser (ILL) def. Billy Mulligan (FLA), 10-4
Billy Heiser (ILL) def John Nallon (A&M), 10-6
Matt Bain (A&M) def Brandon Davis (ILL), 10-3
Brandon Davis (ILL) def Geoff Barton (FLA), 10-6
Doubles
Heiser/Davis (ILL) def. Billy Mulligan/Jordan Dolberg (FLA), 8-7
Spicijaric/Heiser (ILL) def. Matt Bain/John Nallon (A&M), 8-1
Day 3: Sunday, Oct. 8
Singles
Marc Spicijaric (ILL) def. Karl Wishart (UNC), 10-7
Billy Heiser (ILL) def. Andrew Crone (UNC), 10-7
Brandon Davis (ILL) def. Taylor Fogleman (UNC), 10-6
Doubles
Davis/Spicijaric def. Taylor Fogleman/Andrew Crone (UNC), 8-6
