Nov. 2, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Two hard-fought victories later and Illinois senior Ryan Rowe has found himself in his first Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Indoor Championships semifinal at the Racquet Club of Columbus. In his first match, Rowe needed a three-setter to overcome nationally ranked Albert Larregola of Virginia Tech in the second round, while he played with heart to come-from behind in his straight-sets win over No. 19-ranked Daniel Valverdu of Miami in the quarters to push into semifinal Saturday where he will face No. 12-ranked Adam Holmstrom of Denver.

"Today's matches were good tests for Ryan because they produced opponents who were good counter-punchers and forced him to be aggressive with his movement and feet," associate head coach George Husack said. "I think Ryan started out a little slow today in both matches, missing break point chances against Larregola in the first set and then going down 2-5 against Valverdu. However, he just laid it all down on the line at the end and that was the difference for him."

Holmstrom was a winner over 11th-ranked Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Oklahoma State in his quarterfinal earlier today. Holmstrom began his run to the finals scoring the highest upset of the tournament to date when he downed second-seeded and No. 4-ranked Travis Helgeson of Georgia - the Polo Ralph Lauren/ITA All-American singles champion - in his opening round match.

Heading into the semifinals, top-seeded and preseason No.1-ranked Somdev Devvarman of Virginia is the only remaining seed in the draw that started out with 12 of the top 15 preseason singles players. Devvarman takes on No. 111th-ranked Alex Clayton of Stanford in the other half of the bracket.

Rowe kicked off the day with a marathon match against Albert Larregola of Virginia Tech in his second-round tilt. The Illini traded service holds with Larregola for the entire first frame, sending the opening set into a tiebreak. From there, Larregola stole a pair of minibreaks to take a 2-0 lead before running away with the tiebreaker and the set, 7-6(0).

Despite the hiccup in the tiebreak, Rowe returned to business in the second set as he opened the frame with a service break and hold to take a 2-0 lead. Continuing to gain leverage in the frame, Rowe captured an insurance break at 5-2 and another service hold before capturing the set, 6-2.

The third frame played the same as the second, as the Illini All-American broke at Larregola's second service game to earn a 2-1 advantage before putting a stamp on the lead with a solid service hold, 3-1. The two netters continued to battle, but Rowe collected his fourth break of the match to go up 5-2 before holding to seal the match victory, 6-2 in the third.

After a layoff between matches, Rowe hit the court again, this time opposite Valverdu (Miami). The two netters had met once before this season, last trading swings at the Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational on the clay. Valverdu was a winner there, but Rowe was looking to get the best of the Hurricane in their first meeting on hard courts this year.

In the first set, Valverdu was the sharper player from the start, as he stormed out to a 5-2 lead in the early goings. However, finding his swing down the stretch, Rowe dug deep and scored the final five games of the set to claim the 7-5 opening-frame victory.

In the second, the two were knotted at 3-all as neither flinched on their own service games. With a three-set match already in the bag, Rowe played with a sense of urgency throughout the frame to keep that same fate from repeating. Seizing the opportunity, Rowe snatched a service break to take a 5-4 lead and place the match on his racquet again. Turning to the strongest element of the left-handed Illini's game, he rested his semifinal fate on his serve. Rightly so, Rowe didn't falter as he served his way into the semifinals with a second-set 6-4 victory.

"Ryan is now going to rest up and be prepared for a tough challenge tomorrow," Husack said. "Tomorrow should be another exciting day of tennis."

Play resumes tomorrow with the semifinals of doubles and the semifinals of singles for both men and women slated for action at the Racquet Club of Columbus. Live scoring updates for all singles matches are available at www.itatennis.com. Starting tomorrow, video highlights and interviews will be available via www.thebraingame.net. Fans can find a complete recap of Rowe's semifinals match at www.fightingillini.com at the conclusion of action.

-ILLINI