When Coach Brad Dancer declared, “The guys are anxious to get the season started and what better way to do so then in front of a great home crowd at the Atkins Tennis Center,” he was right on track. It was an incredible start to the season for the Illini men as they took their first three matches.

The weekend began at noon on Friday as the Illini started off taking the doubles point from Toledo. From there, it was a quick three victories for freshman Ruan Roelofse and Abe Souza before junior Marek Czerwinski finished off the win. With the remaining matches finished in abbreviated third-set tiebreakers, the final score was 6-1 for the Orange and Blue as Waylon Chin fell 4-6,6-2,1-0 (10-2) to Toledo’s Knot Likitkumchorn.

On Friday evening, Ball State came to Champaign and faced a very solid hometown team. Doubles was an easy chore, with Czerwinski and Billy Heiser capturing the point over Jose Perdomo and Jorge Rodriguez, 8-4. It was a clean sweep all around as freshman Dennis Nevolo sealed the victory. His teammates all registered straight set wins, with the final one coming from Meedo El Tabakh, who had joined the team this year after a stint at Ole Mississippi.

Everyone knew the final confrontation of the weekend was not going to be so easy. Pepperdine came in to the match ranked at No. 14—just one above the Fighting Illini. With four new freshmen, the 2006 NCAA champions were a bit tougher than the weekend’s other contests. More than 300 fans came out to watch as the Illini handled the Waves with a little less ease, but got the job done.

Senior Marc Spicijaric took care of the first singles point with a quick 6-2,6-2 dismissal of Mahmoud Kamel. Czerwinski was soon to follow over Jensen Turner (6-2,6-0), and the Illini were up 3-0. It was actually Brian Livingston, a recent transfer from Northern Illinois, who clinched it as he took out Alex Moreno, 6-2,6-3.

The final two matches were not quite as short as their predecessors. Nevolo, who had earned the league’s first Big Ten Player of the Week honors, succumbed to Omar Altmann, 1-6,6-4,6-2, for the Waves only point. It was a tight match with a bit of controversy when Altmann was given the second set on a questionable line call.

At No. 1 singles, Kalmanovich and Pepperdine’s Bassam Beidas played to a 6-1 first set that went on forever with tight games. The second would actually be truer to the same 6-1 score as Beidas earned the split, but Kalmanovich got back into it and took the final point for Illinois, giving them a 6-1 victory.

Next up for the Illini men will be a face off with fifth-ranked Virginia next Friday evening. They will then be in action at home February 6 against Duke and hosting Tennessee the following evening.

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