Oct. 21, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Senior Ryan Rowe and sophomore Billy Heiser of the Illinois men's tennis team continued their push through the doubles main draw at the 2007 Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional Championships on the campus of the University of Minnesota Oct. 18-22. Coupled with his doubles success, the two-time NCAA doubles finalist and champion in 2006, No. 3-seeded Rowe is on his way to a singles title at Regionals as well, as he will play his round of 16 match today for a spot in the quarters.

"The guys competed very well despite the delays we experienced in traveling up here," associate head coach George Husack said. "This is a very strong event, but we plan to continue to battle and follow up yesterday's performance with strong results today."

For Rowe, ranked ninth nationally, his progress through the main draw of singles has included wins over Trenton Hagan of Marquette (6-3, 6-3) in the opening round, followed by dismissing Alex Forger of Michigan State, 6-0, 6-3, in the round of 32. Now the senior, two-time All-American will face No. 11-seeded Mike Scroczynski of Michigan today at the Baseline Tennis Center. With a win, Rowe will play his quarterfinal match scheduled for noon against the winner of the No. 7-seeded Moritz Baumann (Wisconsin)/No. 14-seed Drew Eberly (Ohio State) match.

For the tandem of undefeated (4-0) Heiser and Rowe, playing together for only the second tournament this season, their march through the doubles main draw started with a first-round victory over Hagan and Dusan Medan of Marquette, 8-5. Continuing to fire on all cylinders, the Illini pair quickly moved past Andy Lockhart and Sebastian Lystad of Illinois-Chicago, 8-3, in the round of 32, setting up their match against Jimmy Chu and Alex Friesen of Northern Illinois. Looking in top form, Heiser and Rowe prevailed 8-4 in the round of 16 affair, moving into the quarterfinals to face No. 8-seeded JP Ritchie and Bart Van Maonsjou of Iowa on Sunday morning.

Should the Orange and Blue tandem win, they will advance into the semis where they will likely face top-seeded Eberly and Justin Kronauge of Ohio State, or their opponents from Wisconsin, No. 11-seeded Baumann and Nolan Polley at 9 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 22.

In other results, senior Brandon Davis and Heiser both dropped their opening-round singles main draw matches, with Davis falling to Reinoud Haal of Iowa (7-6, 7-5) and Heiser coming up short against No. 13-seeded Kronauge (OSU), 6-4, 7-5. In doubles action, the pair of Davis and Knue opened with a win in the first round over Walker Grimes and Greg Holm of Iowa, 8-4, but could not keep that steam going, as they ran into No. 5-seed Alex Birchmeier and Bryan Norville of Western Michigan. Despite taking a 6-2 lead in the match, Western Michigan could not fend off the pesky Illini pair of Davis/Knue, who battled back to level the contest at 6-all. However, the comeback was halted when the Bronco tandem broke to take a 7-6 lead before prevailing 8-6 in the end.

For continued coverage, fans can visit www.itatennis.com or www.gopherspoorts.com for results and score updates throughout the tournament, while a full recap of each day's action for the Illini will be available at www.fightingillini.com.

ILLINOIS ITA MIDWEST REGIONAL RESULTS

SINGLES
First Round - Qualifying Singles
Nick Boulieris (MARQ) def. Jordan Knue - 7-6, 6-4
Ra'ees Ismail (XU) def. Calon Alpar (ILL) - 6-3, 6-0

Round of 64 - Main Draw
No. 3-seed Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. Trenton Hagan (MARQ) - 6-3, 6-3
Reinoud Haal (IOWA) def. Brandon Davis (ILL) - 7-6, 7-5
No. 13-seed Justin Kronauge (OSU) def. Billy Heiser (ILL) - 6-4, 7-5

Round of 32 - Main Draw
No. 3-seed Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. Alex Forger (MSU) - 6-0, 6-3

Round of 16 - Main Draw
No. 3-seed Ryan Rowe (ILL) vs. No. 11-seed Mike Scroczynski (MICH) - 10/21 at 8 a.m.

DOUBLES
Round of 64 - Main
No. 4-seed Billy Heiser/Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. Trenton Hagan/Dusan Medan (MARQ) - 8-5
Brandon Davis/Jordan Knue (ILL) def. Walker Grimes/Greg Holm (IOWA) - 8-4

Round of 32 - Main
No. 4-seed Billy Heiser/Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. Andy Lockhart/Sebastian Lystad (UIC) - 8-3
No. 5-seed Alex Birchmeier/Bryan Norville (WMU) def. Brandon Davis/Jordan Knue (ILL) - 8-6

Round of 16 - Main Draw
No. 4-seed Billy Heiser/Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. Jimmy Chu/Alex Friesen (NIU) - 8-4

Quarterfinals - Main Draw
No. 4-seed Billy Heiser/Ryan Rowe (ILL) vs. No. 8-seed JP Ritchie/Bart Van Maonsjou (IOWA) - 10/21 at 10:30 a.m.