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2005 Season in Review
June 15, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format The 2005 Big Ten men's tennis season saw three Conference squads -- Illinois, Northwestern and Ohio State -- advance to NCAA competition, with the Fighting Illini battling their way to the Round of 16 before falling to Florida State. The Orange and Blue also earned its fourth consecutive Big Ten Championship, which gives Illinois nine titles in the last 10 years. Illinois' Ryler DeHeart was selected as the 2005 Big Ten Athlete of the Year, while teammate Kevin Anderson was honored as Freshman of the Year. The Fighting Illini have now garnered three out of the last five Freshman of the Year accolades. For the seventh time in the past eight seasons, Illinois head coach Craig Tiley was chosen as the Big Ten Coach of the Year. At the conclusion of the season, Tiley announced his resignation as he will now take the position of Director of Player Development for Tennis Australia. In the final ITA poll, Illinois finished ranked sixth in the country, while Ohio state was 24th. Six Big Ten squads -- Northwestern (47th), Minnesota (53rd), Michigan (54th), Indiana (58th), Penn State (63rd) and Michigan State (72nd) -- rounded out the nation's Top 75. Individually, 12 Big Ten student-athletes ranked on the Top 100 Singles list. Illinois' DeHeart finished the season ranked seventh, followed by teammate and doubles partner GD Jones at No. 27. Both DeHeart and Jones finished the year ranked 14th in doubles, while Ohio State's Scott Green and Ross Wilson led all Conference tandems as the sixth-ranked squad in the nation. Illinois' Anderson and DeHeart were both tabbed by the ITA as All-Americans in singles play as they advanced to the Round of 16, while the Buckeyes' Green and Wilson earned the national accolade in doubles competition. In addition to several players ranked in the national polls, 42 Big Ten student-athletes were named to the Academic All-Conference Team. Michigan, Ohio State and Purdue led all schools with five representatives each, followed by Indiana, Minnesota and Northwestern with four apiece. Illinois' Chris Martin also earned his third straight Academic All-America nod as well.
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