Nov. 13, 2009

Order of Play - Saturday, Nov. 14

Qualifying Singles Draw

URBANA, Ill. - Three current Illini will be in action tomorrow in the first day of qualifying play at the JSM Challenger at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana, Ill. The qualifying field includes senior Marek Czerwinski and juniors Abe Souza and Connor Roth, as well as 2008 UI alumnus Ryan Rowe, who won the 2006 NCAA doubles title with last year's JSM Challenger singles champion, Kevin Anderson.

"We are tremendously proud to host this tournament once again," Illinois head coach Brad Dancer said. "It provides a great opportunity for our current student-athletes to gain valuable experience, as well as a unique, world-class event for the Champaign-Urbana community."

The main draw will now feature five players with Illinois tennis connections, as current sophomore Dennis Nevolo and 2008 UI grad Ruben Gonzales have each received wild cards into the singles main draw, joining former Illini Anderson, 2008 JSM Challenger doubles champion Rajeev Ram and Ryler DeHeart.

Nevolo competed in three professional tournaments this past summer, including the Indianapolis Tennis Championships and finished the fall season at Illinois with a singles record of 8-3, while the JSM Challenger marks Gonzales' 10th tournament of the year and first since competing at the Mexico F12 Futures tournament last month.

Nevolo and Czerwinski, who finished 11-1 for the fall in doubles play, were granted a wild card into the doubles main draw as well.

Ram, Anderson and DeHeart earned their entry based on their rankings, as Ram is currently a career-high 97 in the world, followed by Anderson at No. 125 and DeHeart at No. 252.

A complete list of participants and schedule of play for the qualifying draw will be released later tonight. Qualifying play takes place Nov. 14-15, with the main draw set to begin Nov. 16.

For more information, click HERE.