April 26, 2005

Illinois Fighting Illini

The Orange and Blue enter the 2005 Big Ten championship as the defending tournament champion and top seed after winning the regular season Big Ten crown. Overall the Illini went 20-3 in 2004-05 and went undefeated in the Big Ten at 10-0. In fact, Illinois' last Big Ten loss was to Ohio State at the 2001 Big Ten championship. With a bye in the first round of competition, Illinois will play at 10:00 a.m. on Friday (April 29) against the winner of the eight versus nine seed match-up which will pit Michigan State against Iowa. Illinois defeated both MSU and Iowa on the road during the regular season.

As the doubles points go, so go the Illini. When Illinois won the doubles points this season it is 11-0. All three losses have come for U of I when their doubles teams have faltered. The secret weapon for Illinois might be Kevin Anderson and Pramod Dabir. Playing primarily at number two doubles, the pair is 8-2. Both players have combined with several other Illini netters to form solid doubles teams, which gives Illinois head coach Craig Tiley versatility in putting his lineup together this weekend.  Anderson is also one of Illinois top singles players with a 19-4 mark during the regular season. Ryan DeHeart and Ruben Gonzales were the top winning singles player for the Illini during the regular season with 25 and 24 wins respectively.

The Hoosiers draw what might be the toughest assignment for a school in an opening round. As the fourth seed, Indiana receives a bye into the quarterfinals, but, so does its opponent Northwestern. Both schools should be fresh with the extra day to rest, which could make for some close matches. The Cream and Crimson finished 2004-05 at 12-11 and 6-4 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats actually tied Indiana for fourth in the league but IU was given the fourth seed after defeating the Wildcats, 4-3, on April 2nd. Overall this will be the two schools 10th meeting in the Big Ten championship with Indiana leading 5-4.

Jakub Praibis played all 23 of Indiana's matches at the number one singles position where he went 22-9 overall and 8-2 in the Big Ten. The senior notched a 6-2, 6-3 victory over NU's Tommy Hanus in the two schools showdown earlier this month. David Bubenicek is second on the team in victories with 20 against only seven losses. In the Big Ten, the sophomore went 7-3 with one of those losses coming at the hands of Northwestern's Chuck Perrin in a 6-2, 7-6 (5) decision. Praibis also teams up with Dmytro Ishtuganov to form IU's top doubles team with a 19-7 ledger during the regular season.

The Hawkeyes enter the 2005 championship with a 10-11 record and 2-8 conference record. As the ninth seed, Iowa will play the opening match of the tournament against the eighth-seeded Spartans of Michigan State with the winner set to take on top-seeded Illinois. In their regular season contest on April 1st, the Hawkeyes had a tough time with the Spartans, dropping the conference tilt by a 6-1 mark. Iowa's two Big Ten wins came against Wisconsin and Purdue by identical 4-3 marks.

Head coach Steve Houghton has been consistent in his line-ups this season in dual matches. Chaitu Malempatie has played all of Iowa's matches at number one singles and has a 7-14 record at the position. J.P. Ritchie and Bart van Monsjou were the only Hawkeyes to play at number three and four singles and hold records of 9-12 and 10-11, respectively. Malempatie and van Monsjou went 12-11 in doubles play this season - the best mark on the team. Kyle Markham and Brett Taylor played all 21 of Iowa's dual meets this year at number one doubles and have a 13-18 record including tournament appearances.

The third seed for the 2005 Big Ten championship is the Michigan Wolverines. The Maize and Blue recorded 14 wins against nine losses in 2004-05 with an impressive 7-3 conference ledger. Michigan receives a bye into the second round of the tournament and will play the winner of the 6-11 match between Penn State and Purdue respectively. During the regular season, U-M defeated both schools by 6-1 marks with their win over the Nittany Lions coming in the regular season finale on April 24th.

Brian Hung and Marko Maravic each registered 20 win campaigns and each had six conference victories for first year head coach Bruce Berque. Hung and Maravic also comprise the Wolverines top doubles pair with a 12-5 mark overall and 8-2 conference record. Steve Pertz led the team in singles wins within the Big Ten at seven against three losses. Overall, the sophomore went 19-13 in 2004-05. David Anving and Vinny Gossain are another doubles team to watch out for after going 8-2 overall and 7-2 in dual meets at the number three doubles slot.

Iowa is the first obstacle in Michigan State's path toward a tournament title. The Hawkeyes and Spartans clash in the first matches of the 2005 championship at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday (April 28). The Spartans will look to snap a three meet losing streak which they carry in from the end of the regular season against a Hawkeye squad which they defeated 6-1 in early April.

Andrew Formanczyk went 14-9 in the top singles position this season and went 17-13 including tournament play. The senior was also the only MSU netter with a winning record within the Big Ten at 6-4. One of those conference wins was over Chaitu Malempati of Iowa by a 6-4, 6-3 count. Joseph McWilliams and Adam Monich both posted .500 records in 2004-05 at 16-16 and 15-15, respectively. Head coach Gene Orlando has seen one of the top doubles teams in the conference emerge from his ranks in the form of Formanczyk and Nick Rinks. The senior-freshman duo went 17-5 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten this season.

A win over Purdue in the season finale gave Minnesota the seventh seed in the championship and set up a first round match up with the tenth seed, Wisconsin. Overall, the Golden Gophers went 8-12 with a 5-5 conference mark. On April 8th, UM was shutout by Wisconsin in Minneapolis. If the Gophers get by the Badgers, Ohio State looms as their quarterfinals opponent.

Avery Ticer leads singles players for the Golden Gophers with a 20-7 overall record. Ticer has had particular success in dual meets where he holds a 13-3 record with a 6-1 conference mark. Adrien Debreyne is the number two singles player for UM with a 13-12 overall mark and a 5-3 league ledger. The two singles players also are the Gophers top doubles pair after going 15-5 this season and 5-1 in the Big Ten. Nic Edlefson and Raoul Schwark are the other top doubles duo with a 4-4 mark in the Big Ten. Schwark has also had a successful season playing singles. The freshman went 9-9 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten during the 2004-04 campaign.

The fifth-seeded Wildcats enter the 2005 Big Ten Conference championship after winning five of their last six meets en route to a 6-4 conference record and 11-11 overall mark. Northwestern receives a first round bye like its opponent in the second round - fourth-seeded Indiana. The Hoosiers also finished the conference position of their schedule with a 6-4 record and were given the higher seed based off a 4-3 win over NU on April 2nd.

In that match, Christian Tempke, Chuck Perrin and Willy Lock all won their singles matches at number two, three and four singles respectively for the Wildcats. A sophomore, Lock pulled in the most victories this season for head coach Paul Torricelli's team with 24 against only eight losses. In the Big Ten, Lock's only loss came at the hands of Ryan Heller of Michigan at the end of February. Tempke and Matt Christian have experienced a lot of success in Big Ten play this season with conference marks of 8-2 and 6-4, respectively.  Tommy Hanus and Adam Schaechterle make up the top doubles team for the Purple and White with an 8-5 overall record while Hanus and Perrin are 5-2 within the league this season.

An overall record of 17-7 and an 8-2 mark in the Big Ten Conference gave Ohio State the second seed at the 2005 championship. The Buckeyes will square off with the winner of Minnesota and Wisconsin's first round tilt. The Scarlet and Grey had won six in a row before Northwestern ended their streak in the last meet of the regular season. The other OSU loss came at the hands of top-seeded Illinois on April 3rd.

Davin Mullings enters the championship on a hot streak and as the reigning Big Ten Conference Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week. In the final week of the regular season, the sophomore posted a 4-0 record with wins over Michigan and Michigan State at number one singles and number two doubles. Mullings teams up with Chris Klingman who plays at number two singles for head coach Ty Tucker's squad.

The Nittany Lions enter the 2005 championship after winning three of their last four, with the loss coming in the season finale at Michigan. Overall, Penn State went 13-5 with all five losses coming inside the Big Ten with five wins in the conference as well. On March 25th, Penn State defeated Purdue 5-2 at State College and will face the Boilermakers in the first round on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. A win over Purdue would set up a Penn State-Michigan match for the second time in a week.

Mark Barry played in the number one singles spot for head coach Jan Bortner's team. Against Purdue in March, Barry defeated Paul Rose 6-3, 6-4 Barry leads an impressive group of players in singles matches with a 22-10 overall record. Malcolm Scatliffe (24-8), Ryan Berger (23-6), Michael James (24-5) and James Dwyer (25-7) all have above .500 records in singles play this season. Barry and Scatliffe combine to form a dangerous doubles team with an overall record of 18-4 in 2004-05.

The Boilermakers will hope to catch Penn State in a daze after the Nittany Lions' season ending loss to Michigan. The Boilermakers gave them a tough match in the early part of the Big Ten season, eventually falling 5-2. In the all-time series, Purdue leads 10-5 and can think of no better way of snapping out of a 13-game slide then advancing to the quarterfinals over PSU. Overall this season, Purdue went 3-16 with an 0-10 record in conference play.

Paul Rose is the top player for head coach Tim Madden's band. The junior will be competing in his home state this weekend and has a 16-13 record for the 2004-05 campaign. In doubles action this season, Sounak Chatterjee and Flip Koziell went 12-10 and were undefeated at 8-0 when they play in the number two doubles slot. David Robinson and Rose posted a 5-1 mark in conference play while Colin Foster and Scott Warner combined for a 6-4 mark in the Big Ten.

The Badgers only managed two conference wins during the regular season but one of those was over Minnesota, their first round opponent at this year's championship. On April 8th, UW swept the Golden Gophers at Minnesota to notch its first conference win of the season. The Badgers are the 10th seed at this weekend's championship with a record of 8-13 and 2-8 in the Big Ten while Minnesota is the seventh seed. The first round match between the two schools begins Thursday at 10:00 a.m.

Senior Alex Kasarov played at number one singles in all of the Badgers' dual meets this season, going 11-10 overall and 3-7 in the Big Ten. Against Minnesota, the senior defeated Adrien Debreyne 6-3, 6-2 en route to his team's victory. Freshman Jeremy Sonkin has been head coach Pat Klingelhoets primary entry at number two singles, going 15-5 at that position, 23-12 overall, and 7-3 in the league. Felipe Bellido posted the same conference record while registering a 19-14 record this season. Alex Kasarov teams with his younger brother Lachezar at number one doubles where the senior-sophomore combo went 11-9 in dual meets and 5-5 in the Big Ten.