4/24- Men's Tennis Cruises to Semifinals with 4-0 Win Over Nittany Lions

Illini Cruise to Semifinals with 4-0 Win Over Nittany Lions No. 2 seed Illinois Faces No.6 Seed Indiana in Semis URBANA, Ill. – The No. 14-ranked Illinois men’s tennis team cruised to a 4-0 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, held Friday (April 24) on the outdoor courts of the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor. The second-seeded Illini claimed the doubles point and took wins on courts, 3,4 and 5 to advance to the semifinals for the 13th straight year. “In doubles, the guys were resilient and got through for the win,” Illinois head coach Brad Dancer said. “I thought Abe Souza’s play in singles was real strong and it was nice to see him avenge his loss to St-Maurice from a year ago. Dennis (Nevolo) was a strong force for us in doubles and singles, while Marek’s simple and focused play at No. 4 singles was also key. However, we still have to a better job at finishing our matches on every court.” Starting out in doubles, the Illini fought hard under windy conditions, capitalizing to take the early 1-0 lead. At No. 1 doubles, the No. 24-ranked Illinois duo of freshmen Dennis Nevolo and Ruan Roelofse edged out Penn State’s Adam Slagter and Jason Lee, 8-6. The Illini struck again, this time at No. 2 doubles, as the 38th-ranked tandem of Marek Czerwinski and Marc Spicijaric notched their eighth conference win on the year, taking an 8-6 decision over PSU’s Ryan Gormley and Eddie Bourchier. The match at No. 3 doubles was unfinished, as the doubles point had been decided. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Nevolo kept the momentum going in singles as he took a straight sets victory, 6-1, 6-1, over Penn State’s Jason Lee at No. 3 singles. While at No. 4 singles, junior Marek Czerwinski was composed and solid against Eddie Bourchier (PSU). The Birmingham, Mich., native took the first set quickly 6-1, and then finished off the victory in the second set, 6-3, over Bourchier. The clinching victory came at No. 5 singles for the Illini, as sophomore Abe Souza grabbed his sixth conference victory of the season over the Nittany Lions’ Guillaume St-Maurice. Souza swiftly took the first set 6-2, then battled in the second, eventually edging out St.Maurice (PSU), 6-4 for the win. The victory over Penn State marks the Illini’s 20th win of the season. Illinois has had four straight 20-plus-win seasons under the leadership of Coach Dancer. The second-seeded Illini face sixth-seeded Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals tomorrow (April 25) at 2 p.m. ET. The Hoosiers upset third-seeded Minnesota in the quarterfinals earlier this afternoon, 4-1, to advance. Live scoring will be available at mgoblue.com. #14 Illinois 4, Penn State 0 April 24, 2009 Varsity Tennis Center (Ann Arbor, Mich.) Singles No. 1 -- #75 Marc Spicijaric (ILL) vs. Brendan Lynch (PSU), 6-2, 4-5 (unfinished) No. 2 -- #50 Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) vs. Adam Slagter (PSU), 1-6, 6-4 No. 3 -- #38 Dennis Nevolo (ILL) d. Jason Lee (PSU), 6-1, 6-1 No. 4 -- Marek Czerwinski (ILL) d. Eddie Bourchier (PSU), 6-1, 6-3 No. 5 -- Abe Souza (ILL) d. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU), 6-2, 6-4 No. 6 -- Meedo El Tabakh (ILL) vs. Ryan Gormley (PSU), 7-6(4) (unfinished) Doubles No. 1 -- #24 Nevolo/Roelofse (ILL) d. #78 Lee/Slagter (PSU), 8-6 No. 2 -- #38 Czerwinski/Spicijaric (ILL) d. Bourchier/Gormley (PSU), 8-6 No. 3 -- El Tabakh/Kalmanovich (ILL) vs. Lynch/St-Maurice (PSU), 6-6 (unfinished) Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2, Singles 3-4-5