April 28, 2006

MINNEAPOLIS - Led by two-time Big Ten Athlete of the Year, Ryler DeHeart, the defending champion Illinois Fighting Illini opened the 2006 Big Ten Championship in a familiar fashion. The winners of four straight crowns at the postseason event, the No. 6 Illini cruised to a 5-0 quarterfinal victory over seventh-seeded Northwestern on Friday. With the win, Illinois advances to Saturday's semifinal round for the 11th straight year.

Illinois' all-time winningest singles player, DeHeart clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-2 decision over No. 66 Christian Tempke at No. 1 doubles. The ninth-ranked player in the country, he improved to 21-3 overall and 9-0 versus conference opponents.

The Illini doubles attack propeled the team to an early 1-0 lead. DeHeart teamed with Pramod Dabir to take out Northwestern's Tempke and Willy Lock 8-2 at No. 2 doubles, followed by another 8-2 win by Ruben Gonzales and G.D. Jones at No. 2 doubles.

Freshman Marc Spicijaric kicked off the singles success for Illinois. The rookie improved to 17-2 with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over the Wildcats' Adam Schaechterle. No. 23 Kevin Anderson and No. 87 Jones counted straight-set triumphs to put the Illini up 3-0 before DeHeart closed out the match.

The Illini (21-5 overall, 10-1 Big Ten) continue their hunt for a fifth consecutive title Saturday at 2 p.m. against the winner of the Minnesota-Penn State match.

Results
Singles
1. #9 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. #66 Christian Tempke (NU), 6-3, 6-2
2. #23 Kevin Anderson (ILL) def. Willy Lock (NU), 6-0, 6-4
3. #87 GD Jones (ILL) def. Juan Gomez (NU), 6-1, 6-2
4. Marc Dwyer (NU) vs. #71 Ryan Rowe (ILL), 7-5, 2-6, abd.
5. Marc Spicijaric (ILL) def. Adam Schaechterle (NU), 6-1, 6-1
6. Ruben Gonzales (ILL) vs. Alexey Evstratenkov (NU), abd.
Order of finish: 5,2,3,1

Doubles
1. #4 Anderson/Rowe (ILL) led #42 Christian/Schaechterle (NU), 6-5, abd.
2. #17 Pramod Dabir/DeHeart (ILL) def Lock/Tempke (NU), 8-2
3. Gonzales/Jones (ILL) def. Dwyer/Gomez (NU), 8-2
Order of finish: 2,3

Illinois (2) def. Northwestern (7), 5-0

Big Ten Men's Tennis

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