The Fighting Illini (24-6) swept its matches in the first two rounds of the men's NCAA tennis tournament in Louisville, Kentucky over the weekend. They took out Western Illinois (14-8) 4-0 in a first round match and then defeated host school Louisville (18-8) 4-0 in the second round. Next, it's on to Palo Alto, California and Stanford University and the NCAA Sweet 16 where they will face #10-seed UCLA (19-5).
First Round: Illinois 4, Western Illinois 0
Second Round: Illinois 4, Louisville 0
Sweet 16 @ Stanford University - May 20-29
#1 Georgia (26-0) vs. Notre Dame (19-8)
#2 Pepperdine (32-2) vs. Florida (17-7)
#3 Texas (24-3) vs. #14 Mississippi (22-5)
#4 Duke (22-6) vs. #13 Stanford (17-3)
#5 Baylor (22-6) vs. Washington (20-5)
#6 Ohio State (27-1) vs. #11 North Carolina (25-4)
#7 Illinois (24-6) vs. #10 UCLA (19-5)
#8 Virginia (23-8) vs. #9 Miami (FL) (20-4)
Monday, May 15, 2006
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Here's an interesting read on the Illinois/Louisville match from The Courier-Journal in Louisville:
In the middle of yesterday's singles matches between the University of Louisville and the University of Illinois men's tennis teams, Sonny Bass said the Illini were "just too tough." He took solace in the fact the Cardinals were "getting better."
Bass, one of the major donors for the 13-year-old Bass-Rudd Tennis Center, was hoping to see some history made there, but U of L's shot at its first Sweet 16 berth was thwarted by Illinois 4-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
No. 8-ranked Illinois (24-6) advanced to the round of 16 for the eighth straight season and will play this week in Palo Alto, Calif. Considering the way the Illini performed yesterday, U of L coach Rex Ecarma wouldn't be surprised to see them make a deep run.
"I have to give credit to that team," said Ecarma, whose Cardinals (19-8) were ousted in the second round by Illinois for the second year in a row. "That's a Final Four or even a national-championship type of team. Every time we did something good, they did something just a little bit better."
What was new for Illinois was its path to the Sweet 16. Its record and tradition normally would merit hosting the first and second rounds, as it had done the previous seven years, but the school was denied the right to host postseason play because of the NCAA's policy banning Native-American imagery deemed "hostile or abusive."
A crowd of 320 attended yesterday's matches, and half were Illini fans. Several wore orange shirts with this message on the back: "The Road to Palo Alto goes through Louisville. Don't come to us, we'll come to you!" One reveler carried a giant picture of Chief Illiniwek, the mascot at the center of the controversy.
Source: Illinois' road, ahem, warriors eliminate U of L 4-0
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