March 1, 2008

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 1  |  Photo Gallery 2 

URBANA, Ill. - The No. 13 Illinois men's tennis team turned right around after a shaky Big Ten opening win on Friday night and put their trust in their veterans against No. 12 Notre Dame, coming out poised and determined on their way to a 6-1 route of the Fighting Irish tonight. Illinois' energy was at a height in the early goings of the match - in large thanks to the sounds of the Orange and Blue Band - while the courts where heating up with highlight-reel worthy play from Illinois in doubles and singles all evening in front of 500-plus fans at the Atkins Tennis Center.

"This was definitely a better effort tonight from our guys all around," head coach Brad Dancer said "We talked before the match a lot about the balance between toughness and having fun, and I think our guys definitely had some fun out there. They were getting after it and still smiling out on the court, so from a coaching standpoint it's great to see that from our team. We looked at this weekend as a chance to build some momentum for us, and these two wins against some good teams will definitely help with that."

With the win, Illinois improved to 7-4 on the season, while Notre Dame fell to 9-4 overall. Illinois also handed the Fighting Irish their first loss to a Big Ten Conference team of the season, as ND entered the match a perfect 5-0 before tonight's setback.

Senior Ryan Rowe and Billy Heiser (ILL) - ranked 20th in the country - were in full swing on court one to open up the doubles portion of the night. The duo turned in a routine 30-minute win over Brett Helgeson and Sheeva Parbhu of Notre Dame, taking a 5-1 lead behind two breaks en route to a 8-2 victory, their 14th of the season. The senior and tied for 27th-ranked pair of Brandon Davis and Ruben Gonzales (ILL) cleaned up the doubles point from there, as they were out-playing Andrew Roth and Santiago Montoya (ND) in every facet of the game at No. 2 doubles. The Illini tandem, after two breaks owned a 6-2 lead and never looked back on their way to an 8-3 triumph to seal the doubles point for Illinois. Notre Dame prevented the Illini sweep with a win on court three, but the damage was already done, as the Illini had confidence and the lead heading into singles.

After starting a bit sluggish against the Spartans last night, the Illini had no intention of repeating their performance against the well-prepared Irish. In fact, the Illini not only jumped out of the gates in singles, they were laying down the law across the board.

Freshman Abe Souza (ILL) led the charge for the second night in-a-row, pushing Notre Dame's Tyler Davis all around the court to grab the opening set, 6-1, on court six. No. 77-ranked Gonzales (ILL) was untouchable at No. 2 singles, as he mixed in serve and volleying alongside a defense-to-offense approach from the baseline to claim his opening frame over No. 73 Parbhu, 6-2.

With Orange and Blue highlights continuing to fill the Atkins Tennis Center, Rowe (ILL), on court one, and Heiser (ILL) on court three, both tossed in aces to punctuate their opening-set victories, 6-3. Illinois freshman Waylon Chin (6-4) and junior Marc Spicijaric (7-5) then polished off the Illini sweep of first sets with wins on courts five and four, respectively.

From there, Notre Dame just could not stop the Illini bulldozer, as No. 30-ranked Heiser (ILL) steamrolled Steven Havens (ND) in the second set (6-1), giving UI a 2-0 lead. Moments later, Gonzales (ILL) secured his seventh dual win of the year, as he sent Parbhu (ND) packing in the second set, 6-3. Then serving for the match, No. 13-ranked Rowe (ILL) topped off the Illini win, taking down Helgeson (ND) in the second frame, 6-4, to seal the UI victory.

Chin (ILL) closed out the night with his seventh victory of the season by upending Dan Stahl (ND), 6-4, 6-2, on court five. Souza's (ILL) match then brought Illini fans to their feet, as he saved the best for last against Davis (ND). Despite losing the second set - 7-6(6) in the tiebreaker - he could not miss a shot in the match tiebreak. Souza (ILL) worked every corner of the court in the final points, paving his way to a match victory with a 10-3 third-set triumph. Spicijaric (ILL), despite winning the opening set, could not hold on against Anderson (ND), who pulled out the come-from-behind win to wrap up the evening.

Illinois returns to the courts for its third straight home match next weekend when it hosts Purdue on Saturday, March 8, for a 6 p.m. match. The dual will mark the second Big Ten Conference contest of the year.

#13 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 6, #12 UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME 1
3/1/2008 AT URBANA, ILL. (ATKINS TENNIS CENTER)

Singles competition
1. #13 Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. #32 Brett Helgeson (ND) - 6-3, 6-4
2. #77 Ruben Gonzales (ILL) def. #73 Sheeva Parbhu (ND) - 6-2, 6-3
3. #30 Billy Heiser (ILL) def. Steven Havens (ND) - 6-3, 6-1
4. David Anderson (ND) def. Marc Spicijaric (ILL) - 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (10-8)
5. Waylon Chin (ILL) def. Dan Stahl (ND) - 6-4, 6-2
6. Abe Souza (ILL) def. Tyler Davis (ND) - 6-1, 6-7(6), 1-0 (10-3)

Doubles competition
1. #20 Ryan Rowe / Billy Heiser (ILL) def. Brett Helgeson / Sheeva Parbhu (ND) - 8-2
2. #T27 Brandon Davis / Ruben Gonzales (ILL) def. Andrew Roth / Santiago Montoya (ND) - 8-3
3. Tyler Davis / Steven Havens (ND) def. Abe Souza / Connor Roth (ILL) - 8-5

Match Notes
University of Illinois (7-4, 1-0 Big Ten), National Rankings - 13
University of Notre Dame (9-4), National Ranking - 12
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3); Singles (3, 2, 1, 5, 6, 4)