April 20, 2011

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The 18th-ranked Illini men's tennis team (14-8, 6-2 Big Ten) returns home this weekend for its final matches of the regular season. Illinois will host No. 23 Minnesota on Friday at 3 p.m. at Atkins Tennis Center, followed by Wisconsin on Sunday at noon. Illinois is 37-30 all-time against Minnesota and has won 20 straight over the Golden Gophers since the 1995-96 season. Against Wisconsin, the Illini will look to avenge a 4-1 loss to the Badgers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, but hold a 51-29 all-time series lead.

Live scoring for both matches will be available HERE.

CAMPBELL/ITA NATIONAL RANKINGS
In new team rankings released Tuesday, Illinois dropped one spot to No. 18, while Minnesota moved up one spot to No. 23 and Wisconsin moved up two to No. 71. In individual rankings, junior Dennis Nevolo moved up a spot to No. 10, followed by seniors Abe Souza (No. 74) and Johnny Hamui (No. 98). In doubles, Souza checked in at No. 54 with Nevolo and No. 82 with Hamui.

BIG TEN STANDINGS
Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, two teams remain undefeated in conference play including Indiana (21-5, 8-0) and Ohio State (25-2, 8-0). Illinois (14-8, 6-2) and Minnesota (15-4, 6-2) are tied for third, followed by Michigan (12-9, 5-4) in fifth. Rounding out the rest is Wisconsin (10-11, 4-4) in sixth, Iowa (8-10, 2-6), Northwestern (11-11, 2-6) and Purdue (11-11, 2-6) tied for seventh, Michigan State (16-8, 2-7) in 10th and Penn State (10-15, 0-8) in 11th.

SENIOR SEND-OFF
Sunday's match will serve as Senior Day for this year's class of 2011, which includes Johnny Hamui, Connor Roth and Abe Souza. The seniors will be recognized in between doubles and singles on Sunday. For their careers, Hamui, who transferred from Florida after his sophomore season, has tallied 60 wins in singles and 58 in doubles, while Roth boasts 49 in singles and 37 in doubles. Souza leads the way with 95 victories in singles and 51 in doubles.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Minnesota reached as high as No. 16 in early March and has remained in the top 25 ever since. The Gophers' only four losses of the year came to top-30 opponents including No. 6 UCLA, No. 23 Washington, No. 27 Indiana and No. 2 Ohio State. Minnesota has won seven of its last nine matches, with its two losses coming to Indiana and Ohio State. Four Gophers boast 20-plus wins including Julian Dehn (22), Phillip Arndt (20), Rok Bonin (20) and Tobias Wernet (20). Wernet is the lone ranked Gopher in singles, checking in at No. 100, while in doubles, Arndt and Sebastian Gallego are No. 88.

After opening the season ranked No. 29, Wisconsin struggled in the early going and eventually fell out of the rankings in early March and has gone 0-6 against top-25 teams. The Badgers re-emerged in the rankings as of late in the high 70s after winning three of their last five matches over Michigan State, Purdue and Penn State. Marek Michalicka leads the team with 15 wins, all at the No. 1 spot, and is the only ranked Badger (No. 55), while Petr Satral and Billy Bertha have each tallied 10 apiece.

LAST TIME OUT
The Illini were victorious in their final road match of the regular season last Sunday, defeating Michigan State, 5-2, for their fourth straight win. After falling behind 1-0 after doubles, the Illini took control right from the start in singles and never looked back. Eleventh-ranked Nevolo downed Denis Bogatov, 6-0, 6-4, for his team-best 24th win of the year, while No. 72 Souza swept Drew Lied, 6-3, 6-3, to collect his 21st victory and fourth straight, and No. 119 Hamui topped Ronnie Hulewicz, 6-1, 6-4, and claimed his 14th win of the year. Sophomore KU Singh clinched the victory for the second straight match to earn his second Big Ten win of the year after rallying past Aaron Pfister, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-2, and junior Roy Kalmanovich finished out the afternoon with a come-from-behind win of his own, as he defeated Austin Brooks, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, for his 13th win.

UP NEXT
Illinois will travel to Wisconsin next weekend for the Big Ten Tournament, April 28-May 1 in Madison.