April 18, 2008

Box Score

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The No. 17 Illinois men's tennis team had another business as usual win today in Minneapolis when the Illini took down the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 5-2 at the Baseline Tennis Center. The Illini swept the doubles point for the seventh time this season with lopsided victories at all three spots, while freshman Waylon Chin clinched the match with his win at No. 5 singles. Illinois improved 15-7 overall and 7-2 in conference affairs, while Minnesota dropped to 5-16 overall and 3-6 in conference affairs.

"This was a good day for our seniors, especially in doubles from senior Brandon Davis, who led him and Waylon to strong win," head coach Brad Dancer said. "Then in singles, Ryan and Ruben both took care of business at the top of the lineup. It was just good to see them take care of business and be big leaders for us on the court out there today."

The Illini started off the match with the third doubles tandem of senior Brandon Davis and Chin (ILL) almost off the court before the other two matches had started, as they cruised to an 8-1 win over Raoul Schwark and Pierre Dumas (MINN). The duo of senior Ruben Gonzales and junior Marc Spicijaric (ILL) then clinched the team point when they followed with an 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles, while the No. 8-ranked pair of senior Ryan Rowe and Billy Heiser (ILL) put the finishes touches on the sweep when they upended Dino Bilankov and Sebastian Gallego (MINN), 8-7(5), in an abbreviate dual.

With a 1-0 lead in hand, Illinois suffered a minor setback with a loss at No. 4 singles to start off the singles portion of the afternoon, but quickly returned to form to win three straight to clinch the victory.

Those victories came by way of the racquets of freshman Connor Roth at No. 6, No. 53-rated Gonzales (ILL) at No. 1 and then the clincher by Chin at four singles. Roth kicked-off the Illini dominance of the singles lineup, as he dispatched Dumas (MINN) in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, before Gonzales (ILL) proved to be too much for No. 92 Schwark (MINN), 6-2, 6-3.

Then a win away, Chin (ILL) answered the call to put the match away with his straight sets triumph. No. 13 Rowe (ILL) added to the Illini victories with his win at No. 2 over Tobias Wernet (MINN), 6-3, 6-3, before Minnesota won the final match on court to make the final score, 5-2.

"Now our next challenge is to finish the Big Ten season strong," Dancer added. "We have Iowa next at their place, so we have to remain focused for that match. It also is a good chance for us to get acclimated with the courts and the venue, as we will be back in here in a week for the Big Ten Championships."

Illinois finishes its Big Ten regular season on Sunday, April 20, against Iowa. The match is set to start at noon CT in Iowa City, Iowa.

#17 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 5, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 2
4/18/2008 AT MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. (BASELINE TENNIS CENTER)

Singles competition
1. #53 Ruben Gonzales (ILL) def. #92 Raoul Schwark (MINN) - 6-2, 6-3
2. #13 Ryan Rowe (ILL) leads Tobias Wernet (MINN) - 6-3, 6-3
3. Sebastian Gallego (MINN) def. Marc Spicijaric (ILL) - 6-4, 2-6, 1-0(9)
4. Dino Bilankov (MINN) def. #103 Billy Heiser (ILL) - 6-3, 6-0
5. Waylon Chin (ILL) def. Chi Pham (MINN) - 6-4, 6-1
6. Connor Roth (ILL) def. Pierre Dumas (MINN) - 6-2, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. #8 Billy Heiser / Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. Dino Bilankov / Sebastian Gallego (MINN) - 8-7 (5)
2. Ruben Gonzales / Marc Spicijaric (ILL) def. Chi Pham / Tobias Wernet (MINN) - 8-4
3. Waylon Chin / Brandon Davis (ILL) def. Raoul Schwark / Pierre Dumas (MINN) - 8-1

Match Notes:
University of Illinois: 15-7, 7-2; National Ranking #17
University of Minnesota: 5-16, 3-6
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (4, 6, 1, 5, 2, 3)