Jan. 26, 2011
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
The No. 16 Illini men's tennis team (0-1) returns to action Friday to host the third annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kick-Off Weekend, Jan. 28-29 at Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois is the top seed at its site and will face fourth-seeded Denver (1-0) in the second match of the day on Friday at 6 p.m., while second-seeded Oklahoma (1-0) and third-seeded Notre Dame (1-1) are scheduled to square off at 2 p.m.
Live scoring will be available HERE.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The ITA Kick-Off Weekend event features 60 teams battling for the final 15 spots in the 2011 ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Feb. 18-21 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Wash. The 15 schools that win both of their matches at these events will then advance to the Sweet 16 of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The University of Washington receives an automatic bid for hosting the final rounds.
The top 15 nationally ranked teams in the final 2010 team rankings were chosen as host sites including USC, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, Ohio State, UCLA, Florida, Stanford, Texas A&M, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisville, Duke and Texas Tech. The Illini finished the season ranked 16th, but seventh-ranked Baylor opted not to participate in the tournament, which then allowed Illinois the opportunity to host.
CAMPBELL/ITA NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS
Despite the loss, the Illini remained at No. 16 in the latest Campbell/ITA national rankings released Tuesday, as did Oklahoma at No. 17 and Notre Dame at No. 36, while Denver moved up one spot to No. 39.
LAST TIME OUT
It was a challenging dual-season opener, as the Illini fell 7-0 at top-ranked Virginia (2-0) last Friday night at the Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va. With the win, the Cavaliers extended their home winning streak to 76 consecutive home matches dating back to 2006.
Illinois put up a fight in doubles early on, with senior Johnny Hamui and junior Dennis Nevolo rallying back to force a tiebreaker against reigning national champions and No. 3 Michael Shabaz and Drew Courtney. Virginia proved to be too much in the breaker, however, and went on to clinch the doubles point with a 9-8 (2) win.
In singles, sophomore Stephen Hoh claimed the lone set of the night for the Illini, 6-3, taking on No. 19 Jarmere Jenkins. Jenkins stormed back in the following two sets, however, to secure the shutout for the Cavaliers.
THE OPPONENTS
Oklahoma returns to action this weekend for the first time since
tallying a 7-0 win over Wichita State in its season opener on Jan. 18. The Sooners boast three players in the top 70 nationally, led by 26th-ranked senior Ionut Beleleu who owns a team-best 11 singles wins and five in doubles. Also earning early rankings were All-American sophomore Costin Paval at No. 57 and freshman Peerakit Siributwong at No. 70. Siributwong is tied with three other Sooners for the second-most singles wins on the team with nine. Oklahoma also boasts two doubles tandems in the top 40, including Beleleu and Paval (No. 24) and sophomore Lawrence Formentera and freshman John Warden (No. 38).
The Sooners are coming off a 19-8 finish in 2010, highlighted by the program's first-ever Elite Eight appearance at the NCAA Championships. At the helm for Oklahoma is second-year head coach John Roddick, who was a four-time All-American at Georgia and coached his brother, Andy, a former No. 1-ranked player in the world, from 2006-2008.
A trio of seasoned upperclassmen return for the Irish including nationally ranked seniors Stephen Havens and Tyler Davis and junior Casey Watt. Havens, who leads the way at No. 71 in the rankings, is one of three Irish to boast 12 wins thus far in singles. Watt checked in next at No. 104 and has seven victories for the year, while freshman Billy Pecor was ranked 116th and has 10 wins on the year and senior Tyler Davis rounded out the group at No. 122 and has a 12-1 mark in singles. In doubles, Havens and Davis came in at No. 47, while freshman Ryan Bandy and senior Sean Tan checked in at No. 58
In their first match of the 2011 season, the Irish cruised to a 6-1 victory over William and Mary on Jan. 22, sweeping all three doubles matches and claiming five of six singles matches in straight sets. The following day at top-ranked Virginia, Notre Dame fell 9-1, with Davis collecting the lone win of the day, 7-6 (3), 6-4 over No. 77 Julen Uriguen.
Denver is looking to continue its recent success under fifth-year head coach Danny Westerman. The Pioneers have competed in the NCAA Championships two of the past three seasons, including last year and reached as high as No. 25 in the country.
Denver returns five of its top six players from last year's squad, including sophomore Enej Bonin (No. 25), who became the first Denver player to win the ITA Mountain Regional singles championship this past October. Bonin is currently tied with junior Yannick Weihs for the team lead with nine wins in singles. Sophomore Fabio Biasion is also off to a strong start with seven victories on the year.
The Pioneers opened their season on Jan. 21 with a 6-1 win over Montana State at the Denver Country Club and moved up one spot in the rankings this week to No. 39.
UP NEXT FOR THE ILLINI
The Illini will continue their home stand next week beginning with No. 14 Duke on Friday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. at Atkins Tennis Center.
