May 13, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS MEN'S FIRST AND SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE
KHAN OUTDOOR TENNIS COMPLEX // URBANA, ILL.
Friday, May 14 // First Round
Match 1 - Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame - Noon
Match 2 - No. 13 Illinois vs. Xavier - 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 15 // Second Round
Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 - 2 p.m.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Illinois men's tennis team (19-10) was tabbed to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships for the 11th time in 12 years, May 14-15 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Urbana.
Notre Dame and Wisconsin will get things started in the first match of the day at noon on Friday, May 14, followed by 13th-seeded Illinois against Xavier at 3 p.m. The Illini will be making their 15th-straight NCAA Championship appearance and have advanced to the Sweet 16 the last eight years.
First-and second-round competition will be conducted Friday-Sunday, May 14-16, at 16 different regional sites with the winner of each site advancing to the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, May 20-25.
Live scoring for all matches will be available . Additional information including directions and parking can be found by clicking on the NCAA Tournament Central link located on the right sidebar of the men's tennis page on fightingillini.com.
TICKET INFORMATION
Admission each day will be $5 for adults and $3 for students. Children age two and under are free. Tickets will go on sale one hour prior to the first match.
HISTORY OF EXCELLENCE
The Illini are 10-1 in the first round when hosting the regional, with the only loss coming to Northwestern in 1997. Overall, the Orange and Blue are 11-3 in the first round, with the three losses coming in the first three 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 perfect 11-0 record.
2009 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP
Illinois cruised past Western Michigan, 4-0 in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Championships, before advancing to their eighth-straight Sweet 16 with a 4-1 victory over then-No. 21 Louisville. The Illini then moved on to face defending national champion Georgia. After dropping the doubles point, Illinois put up a fight in singles and nearly knocked off the top-five team, but the Bulldogs were able to hang on and came away with the 4-3 win.
2010 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT RECAP
After dominating wins over Iowa and Michigan, the Illini found themselves in very familiar territory at the 2010 Big Ten Tournament in Bloomington, Ind., as Illinois advanced to its 15th-straight Tournament title match and met Ohio State for the seventh-straight time. Unfortunately, for the fifth-consecutive year, the Buckeyes came away with the victory, though Illinois claimed eight titles of its own from 1997-2005.
CZERWINSKI, NEVOLO SELECTED FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Two Illini were selected by the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Subcommittee to compete in the 2010 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships, as sophomore Dennis Nevolo earned the nod in singles for the second-straight year, and also will compete in doubles with senior Marek Czerwinski.
The top 16 individuals in the latest Campbell's/ITA national rankings released May 3 received an automatic bid into the field leaving 48 at-large bids for singles, while in doubles, 11 teams automatically qualified and 21 received at-large bids. Nevolo checked in at No. 47 this week in singles and 11th in doubles with Czerwinski.
Both Illini are vying for their first-career All-America honor by advancing to the Sweet 16 in singles or Elite Eight in doubles. All-America honors also can be earned by finishing the regular season in the top 20 in singles or the top 10 in doubles in the final ITA poll. Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe were the last two Illini to earn All-America accolades in 2007.
Illinois has won three national doubles titles (2000, 2003, 2006) and is the only Big Ten school with an NCAA doubles title. The Illini have advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the doubles championship six times since 2000.
Nevolo's selection into the 64-player singles field marks the 14th-straight year the Illini will compete on the national stage and the 21st time overall. Amer Delic captured the school's only NCAA singles title in 2003.
All matches will be the best of three sets. Regular scoring and a 12-point tiebreaker at six games all will be used for all matches.
The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 26-31 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia, following the conclusion of the team championship (May 21-25). The University of Georgia will serve as host.
ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS
The Illini made three appearances in the latest Campbell's/ITA national singles rankings released May 3, led by sophomore Dennis Nevolo at No. 47, followed by senior Marek Czerwinski (No. 76) and junior Abe Souza (No. 81).
In doubles, Czerwinski checked in with three different teammates including Nevolo (No. 11), freshman Stephen Hoh (No. 58) and Souza (No. 69).
TOP-NOTCH TENNIS
Illinois is one of 14 schools to have both its men's and women's tennis programs ranked inside the latest top 25. The Illini men checked in at No. 13 for the week of May 3, while the women were at No. 22. Illinois is the only school in the Big Ten to boast the feat.
CZERWINSKI, NEVOLO EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
Senior Marek Czerwinski and sophomore Dennis Nevolo were named to the 2010 All-Big Ten Team announced April 29 by the conference office. It is the first such honor for Czerwinski and the second for Nevolo and marks the 14th-straight year the Illini have garnered at least two All-Big Ten accolades and the 21st year with at least one. Illinois finished second in the Big Ten with a 9-1 mark in conference play.
Czerwinski led the Orange and Blue with a 9-1 record in the Big Ten, including eight wins at Nos. 1 and 2 singles and three over nationally ranked opponents. In doubles, the Birmingham, Mich., native posted an 8-2 record at the top spot, teaming with junior Abe Souza to go 7-1 and also picked up a win with freshman Stephen Hoh.
Nevolo, who earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors last season, went 8-2 in the Big Ten, including five at No. 1 singles and two over nationally ranked opponents. The Gurnee, Ill., native posted the same mark in doubles, tallying six wins with junior Johnny Hamui at the Nos. 2-3 spots and also captured a pair of victories with freshman Bruno Abdelnour.
Ohio State's Chase Buchanan was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year, while Michigan's Evan King took home Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and for the fifth consecutive year, Ty Tucker of Ohio State was selected Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Czerwinski also was named Illinois' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree for the second straight year. The 11 student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. These student-athletes are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the school year.
CAREER YEARS
*Fifth-year head coach Brad Dancer won his 100th match at Illinois on March 21 in a 4-3 victory at Wisconsin. He now has 109 at the helm for Illinois and 165 overall for his career.
*Junior Abe Souza has far surpassed his career high this year with a team-best 34 overall singles wins this season. He is currently tied for ninth in school history for most wins in a single season and has won five straight heading into the NCAA Championships. The St. Louis, Mo., native has also broken into the national rankings for the first time in his career and reached as high as No. 57 in singles and No. 60 in doubles with Marek Czerwinski.
*Czerwinski has enjoyed a standout senior season, setting new career-high totals in both singles (26) and doubles (27) and has tallied seven wins over nationally ranked opponents. Earlier this season, the Birmingham, Mich., native reached a career-best ranking of No. 57 in singles and opened the spring season at No. 2 in doubles with Dennis Nevolo.
*Four of the seven Illini to see playing time this season have tallied at least 20 wins overall including Souza (34), Czerwinski (26), Dennis Nevolo (25) and Connor Roth.
*For Souza, Czerwinski and Nevolo, it also was their second-straight 20-win season, as Souza now sits with 73 for his career, followed by Nevolo (53) and Czerwinski (46) in just two seasons each at Illinois.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
XAVIER
The Musketeers (17-7) are coming off their third-straight Atlantic 10 Championship and will be making their third-consecutive NCAA Championship appearance with the automatic bid. Xavier dropped a 4-0 decision to Ohio State in the first round last season, while two years ago, Illinois also claimed a 4-0 victory over the Musketeers in the opening round in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Xavier has won nine of its last 10 matches, including a season-best six straight and reached as high as No. 74 in the national rankings for two weeks earlier in the season, but are 0-3 this year against ranked opponents. Following Xavier's success in conference play, third-year head coach Eric Toth was named A-10 Coach of the Year for the third straight season, while Chris Herrlinger was named first-team all-conference and JT Torbeck, Bobby Deye and Richard Canelas garnered second team honors. Herrlinger picked up all 12 of his dual wins at No. 1 singles, while Brandon MacDonald leads the team with 28 wins overall, including 19 in duals at Nos. 5 and 6 singles and has won 10-straight matches.
NOTRE DAME
The Irish, currently ranked 39th, received an at-large bid into the NCAA Championships after going 15-12 overall with a second-place finish in the BIG EAST behind Louisville. Notre Dame, which reached as high as No. 30 in the rankings to start the spring season, tallied six wins over nationally ranked opponents for the year, including a pair of top-30 victories against Florida State and Fresno State. The Irish topped Wisconsin 4-3 on Feb. 28, but fell 5-2 to Illinois on March 2.
Casey Watt, Stephen Havens and Daniel Stahl were named All-BIG EAST, while Watt also earned an at-large bid to compete in the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championship. Watt ranks second on the team with 20 overall wins, including nine at No. 1 singles and six over ranked opponents, while Stahl also tallied 20 wins, Havens has added 14 and Blas Moros and Samuel Keeton are tied for the team lead with 22 apiece.
WISCONSIN
The Badgers will be making their school-best fourth straight NCAA Championship appearance, as they received an at-large bid into the tournament after going 19-8 with a national ranking of 27. Wisconsin won six of its final eight matches, with the two losses coming to fourth-ranked Ohio State to end the regular season and in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois defeated Wisconsin 4-3 in the lone meeting of the season on March 21.
Moritz Baumann and Marek Michalicka were each tabbed All-Big Ten, with Baumann earning the accolade for the fourth-straight year. The duo also received at-large bids to compete in singles and doubles in the Men's Tennis Championships, as they led the Badgers throughout the season at Nos. 1 and 2 singles and tallied 10 wins together at No. 1 doubles.
17TH ANNUAL ADVANTAGE ILLINOIS AWARDS BANQUET
The Illinois men's and women's tennis teams honored this past year's accomplishments at the 17th annual Advantage Illinois Tennis Awards Banquet May 4 at the I-Hotel. For the first time ever on the men's side, there was a tie for Advantage Illinois Most Valuable Player, as both senior Marek Czerwinski and junior Abe Souza earned the honor for their efforts this season. Souza also took home the team's Scholar-Athlete Award for the second-straight year, as he boasts a 3.81 grade point average in history. Czerwinski was named the recipient of the Chris Martin Fighting Illini Spirit Award for the second-straight year, in addition to earning his first Strength and Conditioning Award, while the Most Improved Player Award went to freshman Bruno Abdelnour and fellow newcomer Stephen Hoh was tabbed Player to Watch.
THREE WEEKLY HONORS
Marek Czerwinski earned his first weekly laurel of the season for the week of March 2, following his performance at No. 6 Florida. The Birmingham, Mich., native captured the Illini's lone singles win against the Gators, handing Antoine Benneteau his first dual loss of the season with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat. Czerwinski also teamed up with freshman Stephen Hoh to capture their first win of the season over a nationally ranked opponent, topping 10th-ranked Benneteau and Alexandre Lacroix, 9-7 to clinch the doubles point for the Illini. Czerwinski also secured the accolade for the week of March 23, after he clinched victories for the Illini over Illinois State and Wisconsin in action the previous week.
Dennis Nevolo was tabbed Co-Big Ten Athlete of the Week along with Ohio State's Chase Buchanan for the week of March 9. The Gurnee, Ill., native went a combined 4-0 in singles and doubles in wins over No. 17 Texas A&M and Northwestern. After missing a match against Notre Dame earlier in the week due to illness, Nevolo bounced back with consecutive two-set victories over No. 33 Jeff Dadamo of Texas A&M, 6-1, 6-2, and Spencer Wolf of Northwestern, 6-2, 6-1 the following night. In doubles, Nevolo and Czerwinski edged Texas A&M's No. 9 duo of Dadamo and Austin Krajicek, 9-8 (4), before Nevolo teamed up with junior Johnny Hamui to top Northwestern's Wolf and Alex Sanborn, 8-3.
