Nov. 2, 2008
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois men's tennis team wrapped up a successful weekend at the Big Ten Singles Championships in Madison, Wis., and the Charles Fluitt Invitational in Lexington, Ky. At the Big Ten Singles Championships, No. 8-seeded junior Meedo El Tabakh advanced to the quarterfinals before his run was cut short by Christian Blerich of Iowa, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
"Meedo competed very well this weekend," Illinois associate head coach George Husack said. "He did a great job of controlling the tempo in each of his matches and that paid off. In the quarterfinals, Blerich raised his game and Meedo could not negate the strokes of the feisty Hawkeye."
Freshman Ruan Roelofse made quite a run in his first Big Ten Singles Championship. The Capetown, South Africa native, seeded No. 15, took a three sets victory over Minnesota's Julian Dehn in the first round. From there Roelofse, downed Iowa's Tommy McGeorge, 6-4, 6-2. In the round of 16, Roelofse battled hard but could not overcome the No. 5-seeded Sebastian Gallego of Minnesota, falling 6-4, 6-4.
Sophomores Waylon Chin and Connor Roth each grabbed two victories on the weekend.
"Overall, we didn't perform as well as we hoped," Husack added. "We need to focus on being more resilient in our matches with a deeper concentration when out on the court. We had a lot of opportunities this weekend and we weren't able to capitalize on them."
In other Illini action at the Charles Fluitt Invitational in Lexington, Ky., sophomore Roy Kalmanovich and freshman Dennis Nevolo each picked up two wins at the two-day tournament. In the opening round, Nevolo defeated Davey Sandgren of Tennessee, 6-1, 6-3. Kalmanovich notched his first victory of the invitational over Tennessee's Jeremy Tweedt, 7-6, 3-6, 6-0. After falling in the second round to seeded opponents, each Illini rebounded on the final day over their respective Tennessee opponents.
"Some of our areas of weakness were pointed out this weekend in Kentucky," Illinois head coach Brad Dancer said. "However, with that said it was good for both Roy and Dennis to each get two wins against quality competition.
The Illini will be back in action next weekend with qualifying rounds for the JSM Challenger held at the Atkins Tennis Center. The 2008 JSM Challenger runs from Nov. 9-16.
Big 10 Singles Championships
Madison, Wis. 10/31-11/2
First Round
Waylon Chin (ILL) def. Brendan Kinkopf (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
Meedo El Tabakh (ILL) def. Tom Murziewicz (IOWA) 6-2, 6-7 (10-8), 6-1
Ruan Roelofse (ILL) def. Julian Dehn (MINN) 6-7, 6-1, 6-5
Phillip Arndt (MINN) def. Connor Roth (ILL) 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-3
Second Round
Slavko Bijelica (PUR) def. Waylon Chin (ILL) 6-1, 7-5
Meedo El Tabakh (ILL) def. Philip Kafka (NU) 6-2, 6-3
Ruan Roelofse (ILL) def. Tommy McGeorge (IOWA) 6-4 6-2
Third Round
Meedo El Tabakh (ILL) def. Will Kendall (IND) 6-4, 6-4
Sebastian Gallego (MINN) def. Ruan Roelofse (ILL) 6-4, 6-4
Quarterfinals
Christian Blerich (IOWA) def. Meedo El Tabakh (ILL) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Consolation Rounds
Connor Roth (ILL) def. Branko Kuzmanovic (PUR) 7-5, 6-3
Jason Lee (PSU) def. Connor Roth (ILL) 7-5, 6-3
Waylon Chin (ILL) def. Maxime Armengaud (IND) 6-4, 0-6, 10-5
Charles Fluitt Invitational
Lexington, Ky.
11/1-11/2
Main Draw
Dennis Nevolo (ILL) def. Davey Sandgren (TENN) 6-1, 6-3
Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) def. Jeremy Tweedt (TENN) 7-6, 3-6, 6-0
Oleksandr Nedovyesov (Ok. St.) def. Dennis Nevolo 6-1, 6-3
Boris Conkic (TENN) def. Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
Consolation Round
Dennis Nevolo (ILL) def. Christian Hansen (TENN) 6-2, 7-6
Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) def. Matt Brewer (TENN) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
