Feb. 3, 2007

Results

URBANA, Ill. ­- The No. 7 Illinois men's tennis team captured a spirited 4-3 victory over No. 41 Tennessee tonight at the Atkins Tennis Center. The Illini, who fell behind early by relinquishing the doubles point, came back strong, winning at No. 1-3 and No. 5 singles to claim the victory.

 

"This weekend was huge for us," head coach Brad Dancer said. "Last year we never seemed to get into matches like this, and the few that we did, we lost. For these guys to show some resiliency and have the match on line and come through and pull it out was fantastic."

 

The Illini started out flat against the Vols, falling behind early. In the No. 1 slot, juniors Kevin Anderson and Ruben Gonzales (ILL) were broken early, and were never able to recover. Despite the Illini having multiple chances to level the match, the fifth-ranked duo of Bobby Cameron and Kaden Hensel (TENN) were able to fight off breakpoint after breakpoint en route to the 8-6 victory. In the No. 2 spot, juniors Ryan Rowe and Brandon Davis (ILL) were out of rhythm from the opening point, falling 8-3 to the Tennessee pair of Ben Rogers and Adam Hubble. Tabbing the sole victory in doubles action, senior GD Jones and sophomore Marc Spicijaric (ILL) dominated their Vols opponents, Kiril Tcherveniachki and Davey Sandgren, winning easily by a score of 8-2.  

 

"I thought against Virginia when we lost the doubles, we did not execute well," Dancer said. "Today, we were outplayed and did not execute. But that is good, because today's experience is going to sharpen up these guys for sure for the rest of the season."

 

Down a point, but no out of the match, the Illini looked to be all business in singles play. Despite starting out slow in the doubles, the Orange and Blue came out swinging in singles, clinching first set victories across the board.

 

Closing out his match first, No. 11 Rowe (ILL) took on No. 35 Hensel (TENN) in the No. 2 spot of the lineup. With a focused attitude and demeanor, Rowe changed the tone of the evening, converting on breakpoints in both sets en route to a 6-3, 6-3 victory. At No. 1 Singles, No. 23 Anderson (ILL) looked to avenge his loss in doubles when he faced No. 24 Cameron (TENN). Anderson wasted no time in his matchup, quickly jumping out to a one-set lead, 6-2. In the second, Cameron picked up his game, but in the end, fell to the hard-hitting Anderson, who broke at 5-5 to put the match on his racquet. With a screaming ace, the Illini junior recorded the win behind a 7-5 second set.

 

"Someone who has been flying under the radar is Rowe," Dancer said. "He has been coming out and just taking care of business in his matches. He has shown a lot of maturity and continued patience within himself."

 

At No. 3 singles, Gonzales (ILL) cruised in his match against Rogers (TENN). Producing a mixture of solid net play and winners on the run, the Terre Haute, Ind., native put the Illini into contention for the match win with his 6-4, 6-4 victory, making the team score 3-2 in favor of Illinois.

 

However, Tennessee made the match interesting with a win at No. 4 singles, as Jones (ILL) fell to Sandgren (TENN) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, in a highly contested three-setter. Despite the senior coming out strong, his Vols opponent had the shots when it counted.

 

With the match coming down to Spicijaric and Davis at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively, the crowd again was treated to some great collegiate tennis on Spicijaric's court. No. 83 Spicijaric (ILL) traded ground strokes with Tcherveniachki (TENN) for most of their match, prevailing in the first set 6-4. In the second, Spicijaric continued to grind away at the baseline against his Vols opponent, but fell behind a break at 3-4. The Wesley Chapel, Fla., native, however, wasted no time in returning the favor to level the match at 4-4, a point that turned the contest in his favor. With the end in sight, Spicijaric broke Tcherveniachki's serve to take the match behind a 6-4 second set victory, clinching the dual match victory for Illinois.

 

"Our team is thin enough that we know its going to be a total team effort every night, and everyone has to play well' Dancer said. "But Marc's energy and enthusiasm has the ability to be contagious. He definitely is the catalyst for this team and was the absolute hero of the weekend winning the deciding match against Duke and then clinching the win today."

 

Rounding out the action at No. 6 singles, Davis (ILL) retired against Christopher Racz (TENN) after taking the first set 7-6(5), falling in the second 6-1 and trailing in the third 1-0.

 

Illinois will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 10, when they take on Texas A&M at 6 p.m.

 

Tennis Match Results

Tennessee vs. Illinois

Urbana, Ill.

#7 Illinois 4, No. 41 Tennessee 3

 

Singles competition

1. #23 Kevin Anderson (ILL) def. #24 Bobby Cameron (TEN) 6-2, 7-5

2. #11 Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. #35 Kaden Hensel (TEN) 6-3, 6-3

3. Ruben Gonzales (ILL) def. Ben Rogers (TEN) 6-4, 6-4

4. Davey Sandgren (TEN) def. GD Jones (ILL) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4

5. #83 Marc Spicijaric (ILL) def. Kiril Tcherveniachki (TEN) 6-4, 6-4

6. Christopher Racz (TEN) def. Brandon Davis (ILL) 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, retired

 

Doubles competition

1. #5 Bobby Cameron/Kaden Hensel (TEN) def. Kevin Anderson/Ruben Gonzales (ILL) 8-6

2. #34 Ben Rogers/Adam Hubble (TEN) def. Ryan Rowe/Brandon Davis (ILL) 8-3

3. GD Jones/Marc Spicijaric (ILL) def. Kiril Tcherveniachki/Davey Sandgren (TEN) 8-2