The NCAA champion men's tennis team will take on South Africa's best over the first few weeks of 2004. The Illini tangle with the South Africa Universities team, composed of the best collegians, on Jan. 4 in Sun City. The following week they will compete against the South African National Team in Cape Town.

Illinois head coach Craig Tiley's ties to the continent will make the trip more meaningful. South Africa is Tiley's native land.

"It's going to be nice to see where he got his roots from," Illinois senior Phil Stolt said. "It's going to be nice to see where he grew up."

Junior Chris Martin feels the trip will help the team better understand the two-time NCAA Coach of the Year.

"When you see where people come from and where they start out, you can really tell a lot about the person," Martin said. "You can learn a lot about who they are."

The Illini hope to understand each other better in preparation for the upcoming season as defending national champions.

"We're going to be exposed to a lot more as far as elements and different situations," Martin said. "I think it's really going to help us, as a team, understand each other."

The South African trip will allow the team to experience a different culture under the direction of one of South Africa's most revered tennis coaches. Tiley served as a Davis Cup Captain for South Africa from 1999-2001, leading that team to its first Davis Cup victory in three years with an April 2000 win over Belarus.

"It is going to be an unbelievable experience and trip for them," Tiley said. "They are going to experience things that they would never normally experience in their lives."

Tiley's team will have a full schedule of activities upon its arrival in the hot climate, including a three-day safari, whitewater rafting and hiking in the mountains, and experiencing life in Cape Town. They'll also face intense competition against the best players in South Africa.

"It's been something that I've dreamt of for a long time," said Tiley, who took his squad to England during the Davis Cup competition.

The team is equally excited.

"The thing I'm looking forward to most is going out on the safari," Illinois senior Michael Calkins said. "When you go to a different country it's always interesting to see how the culture works, whether that's food or how people carry themselves and what they do day-in and day-out."

Tiley hopes the trip will be an educational experience as well.

"We'll definitely be doing some different activities that are culture-based," Tiley said. "I think that it's really important, in the educational process and the growing up process, to learn how other people live and to respect other people and what they do. We're not going to be doing traditional tourist things."

For one, the Illini will be challenging the nation's best tennis players at the Spier Estates where Tiley has served as an adviser.

"I've got a lot of respect for the South African tennis team," Stolt said. "We'll get in there, we'll practice and we'll give it our best shot. I'm sure that we could compete with any team."

Despite their excitement about the event, the men realize they will represent not only Illinois and the Big Ten, but the entire United States.

"That's something that we can be proud of," Calkins said. "We all know that we are going over there and representing the school, so we need to have some fun, but a lot of class when we compete. We're not on our home turf and we have to respect who we're playing and where we're playing and the conditions we're playing in."