May 6, 2009
Complete Notes in PDF Format 
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS MEN'S FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS SCHEDULE
KHAN OUTDOOR TENNIS COMPLEX // URBANA ILL.
Friday, May 8 - Men's First Round
Louisville vs. Wisconsin // 11 am CDT
Illinois vs. Western Michigan // 2 pm CDT
Saturday, May 9 // Men's Second Round
Winners of Match 1 and 2 // 3 pm CDT
*Complete Notes attached in .pdf format
SETTING THE STAGE
The No. 13-ranked Illinois men's tennis team will host Western Michigan (18-8) on Friday, May 8, at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Urbana, Ill., in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships. The Illini (21-8) are coming off a runner-up finish at the 2009 Big Ten Tournament and made way into the Sweet Sixteen at last year's NCAA Championships. The Orange and Blue are making their 14th straight NCAA tournament appearance as the 13th-seed this year.
In the other first round match, the Illini men also welcome the No. 21 Louisville Cardinals (20-7) and the No. 32 Wisconsin Badgers (16-10) to face off on Friday as well. The winner will advance to face the winner of the Illinois-Western Michigan match, on Saturday, May 9.
First- and second-round competition will be conducted Friday-Sunday, May 8-10, at 16 different regional sites. The winner of each site advances to the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College State, Tex., May 14-25.
The 34th-ranked Illinois women's tennis team will also host the first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex, May 9-10. The Illini (18-7) welcome the Vanderbilt in the first round on Saturday, May 9. The Orange and Blue are making their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, and enter the tournament as a 33-48 seed.
First- and second-round competition will be conducted Friday-Sunday, May 8-10,at 16 different regional sites with the winner of each site advancing to the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Tex., May 14-25.
The teams will play a single-elimination tournament beginning in the first round, with the finals site (16-team bracket) to determine the national champion. The matches shall be regulation dual matches with three eight-game pro-set doubles played for one team point, followed by six singles matches, each valued at one team point, played best of three sets. Regular scoring will be used and a 12-point tiebreaker will be played, at eight games all in doubles and at six games all in singles.
Fans can purchase tickets for the Illinois Regional only at the ticket booth at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex, Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 dollars for all students, while children two and under are free.
Live scoring will be available for all matches at fightingillini.com.
STATE OF THE ILLINI
The No. 13-seed Illinois men's tennis team finished the 2009 Big Ten Tournament with a valiant effort as the runner-up for the fifth time in the last 10 years, just shy of its seventh overall title since the conference moved to the current format of the conference's postseason tournament.
The Illini began their 2009 Big Ten Tournament run in Ann Arbor, Mich. facing off against Penn State in the quarterfinal match. No. 2-seeded Illinois handled the Nittany Lions with a decisive 4-0 victory. In the semifinal match the Orange and Blue cruised past the Indiana Hoosiers for the second team this season in a convincing, 5-0, victory. The victory arranged for the Illini to face the No. 3-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
For the sixth straight year the Illini and the Buckeyes met in the championship match for the Big Ten Title, including the seventh time overall in the last 10 years. The Orange and Blue took the doubles point to start, but the 1st-seeded Buckeyes bounced back to win, 4-1.
ILLINI SHOW SUPPORT FOR CANCER AWARENESS
The University of Illinois men's tennis team is rallying for a tremendous cause this week. On Thursday, May 7 at 3 p.m. each member of the squad, in conjunction with Coaches vs. Cancer, will shave their heads to show support for administrative assistant Janice Revell who has battled a bout with the disease throughout the 2008-09 season. Scott Burnsmier, Illinois' Coaches vs. Cancer representative from the American Cancer Society, will be onsite to assist each member of the Illinois men's tennis with the head shaving process. Illinois head basketball coach Bruce Weber will also be on hand, assisting the men's tennis team with the process.
STREAKIN' ILLINI
The Illini are making their 14th straight NCAA appearance, which is the 10th-longest active streak behind LSU and Washington (15), Texas A&M (16), Duke and Texas (18), Florida (19), Pepperdine (20), Georgia (26), and UCLA (33). Head Coach Brad Dancer is making his fourth consecutive trip to the dance.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos advanced to the NCAA Championships by winning the MAC Men's Tennis Championships for the fourth season in a row. WMU, the top seed, opened the tourney by defeating fourth seed Ball State, 4-2, in the semifinals with doubles wins from No. 1 Michael Calderone/Kazuya Komada and No. 3 Casey Cullen/Pablo Olivarez. WMU's singles wins came from Kevin Hayward, Calderone and Komada at the top three spots. The Broncos came back and beat second-seeded Toledo, 4-3, in the championship. The Broncos picked up doubles wins from Cullen/Olivarez at No. 3 and Hayward/Zeyad Montasser at No. 2 and then singles wins from Olivarez at No. 6 and Komada at No. 3 to go up, 3-0. Toledo stormed back to tie the match, but Calderone clinched with a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4 win at No. 2 for the Broncos. Calderone and Komada were both 3-0 and named to the All-MAC Tournament Team and Calderone was named MVP.
The Illini hold a 10-2 all-time record against the Broncos.
WISCONSIN VS. LOUISVILLE MATCH-UP
In the two teams only meeting this year, the Badgers were defeated in a very close 4-3 loss to the Cardinals at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on February 8. The loss was one of only two losses that the Wisconsin team suffered at home this season. Overall against the Cardinals, Wisconsin is winless with a record of 0-5 and is 0-1 when playing at a neutral site.
The Cardinals have played in Champaign in both 2004 and 2005. In 2004, U of L fell 4-3 to Arizona State. In 2005, U of L upset Notre Dame to advance and played host Illinois before falling 4-1. In 2006, U of L hosted the first rounds and beat SMU 4-0 before falling to Illinois 4-0. U of L was not selected in 2008, however, Austen Childs and Simon Childs went to last year's NCAA Doubles Championship in Tulsa in the round of 32. Austen also competed in last year's NCAA Singles Tournament.
THREE ILLINI SELECTED FOR NCAA SINGLES AND DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
The NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Subcommittee selected the 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams that will compete in the 2009 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships on Wednesday, April 29, with three members of the 13th-seeded Illinois men's tennis team receiving at-large bids. Freshman Dennis Nevolo and sophomore Roy Kalmanovich were named to the singles field, while Nevolo and freshman Ruan Roelofse were selected to the doubles field.
All three Illini are making their first appearance in the NCAA singles and doubles championships. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Dennis Nevolo is ranked No. 39 in the latest Campbell's/ITA college tennis poll, while Kalmanovich comes in at No. 50. In doubles, Nevolo and partner Ruan Roelofse have won seven straight matches and enter the doubles standings at No. 21.
All three Illini, with their at-large bids, are vying to earn All-America honors by advancing to the sweet 16 in singles or the elite eight in doubles. The final road to garner one of the nation's top honors is to finish the regular season in the top 20 in singles or the top 10 in doubles in the final ITA poll.
IN THE BOOKS
The Illini have history on their side entering the NCAA Tournament. When staying at home the Illini are 9-1 in the first round, with the only loss coming from 4-0 loss to Northwestern in 1997. Overall, the Orange and Blue are 10-3 in the first round, the three losses coming in their first three consecutive years the team earned berths into the NCAA Tournament from 1996-98.
Since the tournament opened to a 64-team field in 1999, the Illini have advanced to the second round each year, compiling a 10-0 record down the stretch.
Overall, the Illini have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the past seven straight years, a feat only matched by UCLA and Baylor.
NEVELO BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Illinois freshman Dennis Nevolo was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year at the 2009 Big Ten Tournament banquet. The Gurnee, Ill., native becomes just the fifth Illini to earn the conference's rookie of the year honor and the first since former Illini great Kevin Anderson was named the honoree in 2005.
Nevolo has had a remarkable freshman campaign for the Illini. The newcomer holds a 25-11 overall singles record and finished the regular season with a 4-2 Big Ten record, and currently holds the No. 39 spot in the latest Campbell's/ITA rankings. Nevolo went 7-2 in doubles in conference matches and is currently ranked No. 21 in the country with partner Ruan Roelofse. Nevolo was named Big Ten Player of the Week twice in his debut season for the Orange and Blue.
THREE ILLINI EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
Freshman Dennis Nevolo, sophomore Roy Kalmanovich and senior Marc Spicijaric earned All-Big Ten accolades after leading the Illini (21-7, 8-2) to a second place regular season finish in the conference. The honors are the first of each of their careers at Illinois and marks the 13th straight year two-or-more Illini have garnered the distinction and the 20th straight season at least one Illinois netter has received the prestigious distinction. Junior Marek Czerwinski was named Illinois' Sportsmanship Honoree.
COACH DANCER LEADS ILLINI
The Illini have recorded their fourth-straight 20-plus win season with Coach Brad Dancer at the helm. Dancer has moved into third place on the Illinois all-time coaching victories record book in just four seasons as head coach, recording 88 victories at Illinois.
2005-06 // 24-7
2006-07 // 23-9 (NCAA Runner-Up)
2007-08 // 20-9
2008-09 // 21-8
ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET
At the annual Advantage Illinois banquet, the Most Valuable Player award went to senior Marc Spicjaric. Spicijaric, an All-Big Ten selection, has been an important part of Illinois' success this season. The Wesley Chapel, Fla. native, is currently No. 75 in singles in the ITA rankings and No. 41 in doubles along with partner Marek Czerwinski.
Sophomore Abe Souza took home the Scholar-Athlete Award (3.76 grade point average in History) and earned the Strength and Conditioning Award; junior Marek Czerwinski was named the Most Improved Player and also won the Chris Martin Fighting Illini Spirit Award. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Dennis Nevolo was tabbed the Player to Watch.
ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS
Individually, the Illini boast three players in the singles rankings with freshman Dennis Nevolo topping the charts at No. 39, followed by sophomore Roy Kalmanovich (No. 50) and senior Marc Spicijaric (No. 75).
In doubles, the Illini have three tandems in the standings with the freshmen duo of Nevolo and Ruan Roelofse coming in at No. 21, followed by the veteran tandem of Spicijaric and junior Marek Czerwinski at No. 41. Czerwinski, when pairing up with junior Billy Heiser, ranks No. 68 in the Campbell's/ ITA doubles rankings.
GIMME FIVE
Three Illinois athletes garnered five weekly conference accolades thoughout the season. Freshman Dennis Nevolo and senior Marc Spicijaric have each been honored twice, while junior Marek Czerwinski was also tabbed Big Ten Player of Week once.
Nevolo picked up his first career conference award back at the beginning of the season as he led the Illini charge at the University of South Florida Invitational. The team grabbed a total of 19 singles wins and eight doubles wins in a field that featured individuals from Florida A&M, Florida State, No. 40 South Florida, and Memphis. Individually, the No. 41-ranked Nevolo was a perfect 4-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles. The Gurnee, Ill., native was recently honored for the week ending April 12. The 36th-ranked Nevolo went a combined 6-0 with a string of tough matches against No. 14 Kentucky, Penn State, and No. 3 Ohio State.
The lone four-year senior Marc Spicijaric picked up his second weekly laurel of the season after going 4-0 in doubles and 3-1 in singles in Illinois' three upset wins over top-15 teams over the course of the week. Spicijaric led the Illini to victories over seventh-ranked Florida, No. 10 Baylor and No. 12 Tulsa, with their only loss coming to No. 4 UCLA in the first round of the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship.
Czerwinski nabbed the conference laurel for the week ending March 8 after the Birmingham, Mich., native went a combined 4-0 over the weekend helping lead the No. 7 Illini to conference wins over No. 44 Northwestern and No. 19 Wisconsin.
ORANGE AND BLUE AMONG NATIONS LEADERS IN ATTENDANCE
The 2009 ITA attendance race is on and the Illini men are among the leaders in the second annual race. The Illini are fourth in overall total attendance among Division I men's schools, with 3,047 fantastic fans coming to the Illini's first 12 home matches this season. The Fighting Illini's match at Virginia drew 649 fans, placing fifth in single match attendance.
