CHICAGO – The No. 14 Fighting Illini head to the Windy City for a packed filled week of tennis as the Orange and Blue host the No. 7 UCLA Bruins for a dual, before commencing the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Friday night at Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago. 15 years ago, the Illini defeated the Bruins to win the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in 2004. Illinois swept then No. 6 UCLA, 4-0.

Scouting the Opposition | No. 7 UCLA (3-0)

Head coach Billy Martin is in his 26th year as head coach of the UCLA Bruins with an overall record of 576-118 (.830) going into the 2019 season. This year marks his 36th on staff, as he served as an assistant coach for 10 years prior to taking over for Glenn Bassett in 1994… UCLA has appeared in 42 NCAA Tournaments, winning 16 championships overall… The pinnacle of Martin's career came in 2005 when he led the squad to its first NCAA title since 1984. That same year, he became just the third active head coach to be inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame, joining Al Scates (women's volleyball) and Valorie Kondos-Field (women's gymnastics)… Under Martin's tenure, the Bruins have had success in the very competitive Pac-12, winning four conference championships (2013-14, 2016, 2018) and 14 regular-season titles… Martin's conference record is 157-27 (.853) with the Bruins always finishing in the top-three in the conference standings.

Last Time Out

The No. 14 Fighting Illini men's tennis team split Friday and Saturday's matches at Atkins, winning a thriller against Kentucky, 4-1, but falling short to No. 8 North Carolina, 4-3. Against Kentucky, Illini duo Aleks Kovacevic and Keenan Mayo clinched the doubles point with a 7-5 victory over Kento Yamada and Ryo Matsumura. While junior Zeke Clark clinched the victory in a thrilling three-setter defeating Cesar Bourgois, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. On Saturday, sophomore Caleb Chakravarthi won his seventh consecutive singles match, while Kovacevic thrilled in the No. 1 singles spot, defeating North Carolina's William Blumberg, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Host Illinois Earn Automatic Berth to ITA National Team Indoor Championships

The University of Illinois Men's Team will host the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on February 15-18, 2019 at Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago, Ill. In its 44th year of existence, this will be the fifth time the Orange and Blue has hosted this tournament with the last being in 2015. As the host site, Illinois received an automatic bid to the event and was exempt from competing in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Illini have won the team championship twice in program history (2003, 2004).

West Joins Dancer's Staff

Illinois tennis head coaches, Brad Dancer (Men's Tennis) and Evan Clark (Women's Tennis) announced on July 10, 2018 the addition of Eric West to their respective staffs as Director of Operations. He brings both Division I playing and coaching experience, along with high-level youth coaching experience to the Illini. During his collegiate career, West spent his last three years at Oklahoma state where he was selected as an All-Big 12 second-team selection in 2012 and totaled 47 career singles wins and 40 career doubles. He also helped the Cowboys achieve a spot in the top-25 national rankings several times throughout his career.

West joins the Fighting Illini Tennis programs after three seasons as an assistant coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats women's tennis program. Prior to Cincinnati, he worked as an assistant tennis professional at the Shadow Mountain Racquet Club & Oak Tree Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. Following his playing career, he also spent one season as a Volunteer Assistant Coach at Oklahoma State from 2012-13. Completed his professional career by participating in many ITF Future and ATP Challenger Tournaments.

Illini Lineup Returns

Illinois returns eight players from the 2017-18 squad, including six letterwinners. Without any seniors on the team, the Illini juniors Vuk Budic, Zeke Clark, Gui Gomes, Noe Khlif, and Aleks Kovacevic will provide leadership and guidance for the team. With a year under their belt, sophomore duo Alex Brown and Caleb Chakravarthi will add depth to the Illini lineup.

Newcomers

Head Coach Brad Dancer adds four freshmen to the program - Lucas Horve (Forsyth, Ill.), Keenan Mayo (Long Beach, Calif.), Siphosothando Montsi (East London, South Africa), and early enrollee Alex Bancila (Lake Bluff, Ill.). Local five-star recruits, Horve and Bancila, along with Mayo and Montsi are expected to make an immediate impact for the Illini after successful ITF junior careers.

In the Rankings

For the fourth week this season, the Illini remain in the top 20 of the ITA team rankings. Moving, up one spot this week, the No. 14 Illinois are coming off of an exciting win against No. 11 Notre Dame. In the first individual rankings since the fall season, five Illini are ranked in singles play with three earning career-high rankings. Breaking into the top 30, sophomore Alex Brown sits at No. 23, while junior Aleks Kovacevic moved up 20 spots at No. 24, and junior Zeke Clark bests his career-high rank by 53 spots at No. 30. For the first time in his career, sophomore Caleb Chakravarthi breaks into the singles rankings at No. 116, while freshman Keenan Mayo sits at No. 125 to round out the field.

Next Serve

The No. 14 Illinois men's tennis team continues play in the Windy City, hosting the ITA National Indoor Championships from Feb. 15-18. The No. 12 seed Illini will open the 16-team tournament with No. 5 seed Texas on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT. Illinois is 3-9 overall against the Longhorns and defeated them, 4-2, in their last outing on March 14, 2015 in Austin, Texas.

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