Illini knock Minnesota out of first in Gophers' first conference loss
Bottom of lineup picks up slack, helps team inch past Minnesota


by Erin Walsh
Daily Illini sports reporter

The No. 7 Illinois men's tennis team inched past No. 22 Minnesota on Friday by a 4-3 margin to take sole possession of the first-place spot in the Big Ten. The win, which put the Illini at 17-3 overall and 8-0 in league play, gave the Golden Gophers their first conference loss of the season.

Illinois won the doubles point as well as three singles matches to overcome Minnesota's all-international lineup. Head coach Craig Tiley said that he is pleased with the team's play.

"It was a very hostile home crowd, but we withstood the pressure. I am very happy with the result. We lost at the top two singles positions, but the sophomores really came through for us," Tiley said in a statement issued by the team.

To start off the day, the No. 1 doubles tandem of senior All-American Cary Franklin and junior Graydon Oliver downed Thomas Haug and Martin Michalowski 8-3. Franklin is now tied with Brady Blain for third place on Illinois' all-time list of doubles victories.

Senior Matt Snyder and sophomore Mike Kosta fell to Minnesota's Tyson Perry and Jon Svennson at the No. 3 spot, but senior Jeff Laski teamed up with sophomore Jamal Parker at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point for Illinois. The duo defeated Minnesota's Harsh Mankad and Jorge Duenas 9-8(3).

Franklin, tainting his perfect conference record, lost to Mankad 6-4, 7-5 at No. 1 singles. Ranked eighth in the nation, the senior is now 17-2 on the year and 7-1 in the Big Ten. Fellow senior Laski also suffered a rare loss, falling to Minnesota's Haug 6-4, 6-2.

But the bottom of the lineup picked up the slack for Illinois. Oliver downed Duenas 7-6(2), 6-4 at No. 3 singles, while Parker rebounded from recent losses to defeat Michalowski 7-6(4), 6-3. Kosta put the Illini over the top with his hard-fought 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Perry.

Friday's victory extended Illinois' conference winning streak to 40 matches. The record is topped only by Michigan, which won 49 consecutive Big Ten matches from 1971-76.

With their toughest conference competition behind them and only two league matches left in the season, the Illini will probably receive the top seed at the conference tournament. They travel to Bloomington, Ind. April 27-30 as the favorites to take their fourth consecutive Big Ten Championship title.

The team travels to Iowa on Saturday and Wisconsin on Sunday for noon matches.