Feb. 3, 2008

Box Score

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The 2007 NCAA Finalist No. 8 Illinois men's tennis team suffered an upset at the hands of No. 24 Tennessee, 4-3, at the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center this afternoon in Knoxville, Tenn. The Illini had a quick setback in doubles to trail early, 1-0, and from there an intense and well-prepared singles lineup for the Volunteers proved to be too much down the stretch.

"Hats off to Tennessee, they played a good enough match to beat us today and were the more prepared team," head coach Brad Dancer said. "Tennessee stole a pivotal win at No. 1 doubles that I think turned the match around for them. After today, I think its evident that we are not as sharp as we need to be at this point in the season. With that said, I thought we had a lot of great efforts from guys today. Ruben had a tough match at No. 1, while Billy didn't play his best but found a way to win in his match. Waylon's win was a little anti-climatic since the match was already over, but it was a great effort and win for the young freshman. "

With the loss, Illinois dropped to 2-2 on the season, while Tennessee improved to a perfect 6-0 on the year.

Playing at No. 2 doubles, the tandem of Ruben Gonzales and Brandon Davis (ILL) notched a victory in doubles play for the Illini, prevailing 8-6 over the Tennessee duo of Boris Conkic and Davey Sandgren. Junior Marc Spicijaric and freshman Waylon Chin, at No. 3 doubles, fell to the Tennessee pair of Matteo Fago and Jeremy Tweedt, 8-4. All eyes then turned to No. 1 doubles, where the No. 36-ranked duo of Billy Heiser and Ryan Rowe battled against Kaden Hensel and J.P. Smith (TENN). With the doubles point on the line, the Vols came through with the victory, winning 9-7.

In singles action, the Illini battled into third sets on five different courts. In the four slot, Spicijaric (ILL) won his first set over Sandgren (TENN), 6-1, before the Volunteer turned the tide to seal the final two sets en route to the victory to give Tennessee the 2-0 lead. On court two, senior No. 15-rated Rowe scored a huge 7-6(4) first-set victory over No. 93 Smith (TENN), but could not keep the momentum going, falling 6-4, 6-3 in the final sets.

Senior Ruben Gonzales, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, at No. 1 battled against Hensel (TENN) throughout the course of the match. In fact, with the match on the line, the two took the final set into a tiebreaker where Hensel (TENN) broke away, winning the decisive set, 7-6(1).

Rounding out the final three courts, Heiser (ILL) gave the Orange and Blue their first victory on the afternoon at three singles. Heiser, the Vernon Hills, Ill. native, downed No. 28 Boris Conkic, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3. Freshman Abe Souza, making his season debut for the Illini, defeated Chris Racz (TENN), 6-3, in an abbreviated match since the dual was already decided. In the final match to be decided, Chin (ILL) improved to 3-1 in dual match action this season, coming back losing the opening frame, 6-1. Chin (ILL) went on to claim the victory, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8) over Fago (TENN).

Illinois returns home to take on No. 24 LSU, on Feb. 9. First serve is set for 6 p.m. at the Atkins Tennis Center. Live scoring will be offered and a full recap of the match will be available at the conclusion of the contest. Both can be found at the official web site of Illinois men's tennis, www.fightingillini.com, and clicking on the men's tennis home page.

No. 24 University of Tennessee 4, No. 8 University of Illinois 3 2/3/2008 AT Knoxville, Tenn. (GOODFRIEND INDOOR TENNIS CENTER)

Singles competition
1. Kaden Hensel (TENN) def. Ruben Gonzales (ILL) - 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(1)
2. # 93 J.P. Smith (TENN) def. #15 Ryan Rowe (ILL) - 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3
3. #70 Billy Heiser (ILL) def. #28 Boris Conkic (TENN) - 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3
4. Davey Sandgren (TENN) def. Marc Spicijaric (ILL) - 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. Waylon Chin (ILL.) def. Matteo Fago (TENN) - 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (8)
6. Abe Souza (ILL) def. Chris Racz (TENN) - 6-3

Doubles competition 1. Kaden Hensel/J.P. Smith (TENN) def. #36 Billy Heiser / Ryan Rowe - 9-7
2. Brandon Davis / Ruben Gonzales (ILL.) def. Boris Conkic/Davey Sandgren - 8-6
3. Matteo Fago/Jeremy Tweedt (TENN) def. Waylon Chin / Marc Spicijaric (ILL) - 8-4

Match Notes
University of Illinois 2-2, 0-0 Big Ten
University of Tennessee, 6-0, 0-0 SEC
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3, 1); Singles (4, 2, 1, 3, 6, 5)