May 18, 2007
ATHENS, Ga. - The No. 10 Illinois men's tennis team, fresh off its upset victory, 4-3, over No. 7 Mississippi in the round of 16 of the NCAA Team Championships yesterday, took the day off today to prepare physically and mentally for its match against Ohio State on Saturday, May 19, at noon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Overall, Illinois is one of three teams to upset their opponent in the round of 16, joining N.C. State, who defeated No. 11 Texas (4-3), and No. 12 USC, who downed No. 5 Notre Dame (4-3).
Fans can follow the action through live scoring off the official NCAA web site at ncaasports.com. A full recap of the match can be found at fightingillini.com, following the conclusion of the contest.
SETTING THE SCENE
Illinois faces Ohio State in the Elite Eight, marking the third time this season the two teams have faced, second in the postseason as they both met on the courts of the Big Ten Tournament finals two weeks ago. Illinois is currently on a four-match skid against the Buckeyes since first losing to OSU during the regular season in 2006 and is 0-2 in the postseason during that same stretch - losing in the Big Ten finals in 2006 and 2007. The Illini hope to end that streak as they continue their journey towards the program's second NCAA title in the last five years.
THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
Heading into the Elite Eight, all four top seeds are still alive and battling for a national championship (No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Virginia, and No. 4 Baylor). Of the remaining teams, only Illinois, Georgia, UCLA, USC and Baylor have won the title in the history of the NCAA Tournament, while the defending champion, Pepperdine, is already out of the title picture this year.
Over the last seven years, seven different teams have taken home the title, including Stanford (2000), Georgia (2001), USC (2002), Illinois (2003), Baylor (2004), UCLA (2005) and Pepperdine (2006). From 1973-1999, only four teams had won the NCCA Championship (Stanford, UCLA, USC, Georgia).
OUT OF PLACE
Ohio State is in their second straight quarterfinal appearance under head coach Ty Tucker, but is facing unfamiliar waters as it has never advanced past the quarters in the history of the program. In 2006, Ohio State bowed out of the tournament after a 4-3 loss to Texas.
BEEN HERE BEFORE
With the win over Ole Miss, the Illini have now advanced to the quarterfinals four out of the last eight years and for the first time since 2004. Overall, Illinois is 2-3 in the Elite Eight and improved to 6-2 in the round of 16 with its win over Mississippi.
IT TAKES TWO
Illinois is looking to hand second-seeded Ohio State only their second loss of the year, as the Buckeyes enter the contest 30-1 overall. OSU's only loss this season came to No. 1 Georgia, 4-0, in the USTA/ITA Indoor National Championship finals on February 19. Ohio State is on a 20-match winning streak coming into the contest against Illinois and is ranked No. 2 in the country.
PUT THE BROOMS AWAY
Illinois has never lost three times to the same opponent in the same year. The first time the Fighting Illini faced the same team three times in a season came in 1996, U of I's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. That year, Illinois took on Northwestern and was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 4-0 in the two's final meeting. The Wildcats won two of the three meetings that year.
This year, the Illini met the Michigan Wolverines three times, once in the regular season and then again in the Big Ten Tournament before eliminating the Maize and Blue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Illinois won two out of the three meeting against Michigan this year, winning the last two tilts after falling 5-2 in the regular season.
OVERCOMING THE ODDS
To accomplish the victory over Ole Miss, the Illini for only the third time all season and for the second straight match, dug out of a doubles-point deficit to overcome a feisty SEC foe, Mississippi. With experience on their side, as the Illini had to dig deep to hit past Michigan 4-2 last weekend in the second round of the NCAA Championships, Illinois again showed its never-say-quit attitude when it mattered the most.
In an even more stifling note, Ole Miss was 100-4 overall since 2002 when winning the doubles point, and boasted a 20-0 mark in 2007 before the Illini upset in the round of 16.
From the beginning of the match, the Rebels were clicking on all cylinders in the doubles portion, but a shift in the in the contest worked in the Orange and Blue's favor, as they rattled off four singles wins at Nos. 3, 2, 5 and 1 to claim the 4-3 come-from-behind win.
The victory moved Illinois to 2-1 against the Rebels in the postseason as it bested Ole Miss in their last NCAA Team Championships matchup in 2003 (4-1) en route to the program's first NCAA team title.
