Jan. 13, 2012
2012 Quick Facts
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini men's tennis team will open the season ranked 17th in the Campbell/ITA rankings after securing a trip to the NCAA round of 16 last season for the ninth time in 10 years. The Orange and Blue will return four contributors from last year's squad, which took down 14 ranked opponents, including five in the top 25.
A pair of nationally ranked seniors - No. 2 Dennis Nevolo and No. 24 Roy Kalmanovich - will lead the Illini in their quest for a Big Ten title.
Nevolo garnered the highest national ranking of his career after posting a team-leading 11-2 mark last fall, with his only two losses coming to No. 1 Mitchell Frank of Virginia in national tournament settings. Last spring, Nevolo earned All-America honors after reaching the NCAA singles round of 16 for the first time in his career and led the team in singles (29) and doubles (22) victories, posting 16 wins over nationally ranked players.
"Dennis is a lot more emotionally aware of where he needs to be," Illinois head coach Brad Dancer said. "He's essentially made improvements on his serve and his transition game. A lot of elements of his game are coming together at the moment. I think he's going to be someone who is really difficult to beat throughout the year."
Roy Kalmanovich also earned his highest national ranking after picking up nine wins in the fall with six victories over ranked opponents. In 2010-11, the Framingham, Mass., native won 16 matches, including six in the Big Ten, playing primarily at the No. 2 spot.
"Roy is showing some great emotional maturity and leadership skills right now," Dancer said. "He is also putting together some new facets of his game. His willingness to expand his game will help him tremendously."
Juniors Stephen Hoh and Bruno Abdelnour will also look to be major contributors for the Orange and Blue throughout 2012.
Hoh is coming off a career-best season in 2010-11, winning 22 singles matches, which was good for third-most on the team. He also captured a career-high 19 doubles wins, which ranked second on the team. The Australia native will start the season ranked 14th regionally.
"Stephen is doing such a good job with every aspect of his game," Dancer said. "He's just got to play a little bit stronger in different scoring situations and not let the situation faze him. If he does that, he's going to make a big jump."
Abdelnour tallied career highs in singles (14) and doubles (8) victories throughout 2010-11 and will open the season at No. 18 in the region after posting nine singles wins last fall.
"Bruno is someone who has a lot of weapons to his game," Dancer said. "He's playing a lot more aggressive than he has in the past. It's really going to make him a difficult force to beat."
Three talented newcomers - freshmen Tim Kopinski, Ross Guignon and Farris Gosea - will also play key roles in 2012. Kopinski and Guignon signed as five-star recruits in 2010, while Gosea joined the Illini less than a month ago.
Kopinski strung together an impressive fall, capturing seven singles wins in his debut semester, while Guignon added five solo victories. The duo teamed up to go a perfect 4-0 in doubles play at the Wildcat Invitational, where Kopinski also went 3-0 in singles action.
"Tim has to start creating higher expectations for himself," Dancer said. "Right now, we see glimpses of what we want him to do, but we don't see it all the time. We have very high expectations for him."
"Ross is doing a great job with his physical strength. He is a tremendous competitor. If he's able to sustain a balanced threshold of competitiveness throughout, he will be successful. And we also know Farris can do a lot on the court. Once we're in a dual-match setting, he's going to be a great asset to the team."
The Illini will kick off the spring season at the Gardnar Mulloy Miami Invitational, Jan. 12-14 in Miami, Fla., where they will face opponents from No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 22 Texas Tech and No. 31 Miami. The Orange and Blue will host Detroit Mercy (3 p.m.) and Ball State (7 p.m.) on Friday, Jan. 20 at Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana for the start of the dual season.
Illinois is one of nine Big Ten schools to open the season in the national rankings and one of three conference programs in the top 25. Ohio State leads the way at No. 3, followed by No. 17 Illinois, No. 25 Minnesota, No. 29 Indiana, No. 32 Michigan, No. 40 Nebraska, No. 53 Michigan State, No. 64 Purdue and No. 69 Wisconsin.
The Big Ten Tournament is slated for April 26-30 in Evanston, Ill., while the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament will take place May 11-13, followed by the NCAA Championships, May 18-28 in Athens, Ga.
