The Illinois men's tennis team did not have the same success at the Icy Hot/Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American tournament they had last fall, but their performance did show that the Illini would be a force in the spring.

Illinois juniors Conner Murnighan and Evan Zeder kicked off the tournament for the Illini in the qualifying portion of the tournament. However, neither could convert in their opening round singles matches. Zeder fell to Felix Hardt 6-0, 6-1. Murnighan suffered a 6-1, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Izak van der Merwer.

The early losses gave the Illini a day to regroup before being joined by their trio of teammates participating in the main draw and their doubles partners. Zeder and junior Chris Martin secured the only doubles victory of the tournament, knocking off Butler's duo of Kevin Gill and Brandon Gill.

The Illini tandem faced three opponents the day they ousted the Gill brothers — their first round match was postponed until the second day of doubles tournament.

"It was tough but that's what we train for," Martin said. "We have to play when we're called upon. We dealt with the situation like professionals."

The duo's win forecasts a bright future for the Illini, who had to face a tough Butler squad last year to earn their trip to Athens, Ga., and the NCAA Championships.

"Certainly it's good to beat someone in our regional," Martin said. "It shows us where we are, how we've developed and what we still have to do."

Illinois senior Michael Calkins, who owns a share of last year's tournament doubles crown, arrived in Chattanooga, Tenn., and stretched his winning streak with a win over Thomas Schoeck of Boise State and upsetting No. 45 Shannon Buck. Calkins checks in at the No. 62 place.

It wasn't until Calkins faced Big Ten rival Jeremy Wurtzman of Ohio State that he was dealt his first singles loss and was eliminated from that portion of the tournament. Last season Illinois senior Phil Stolt thwarted Wurtzman's bid for a quarterfinal bid, dominating the Buckeye in straight 7-5, 6-3 sets. Stolt is recovering from late August back surgery but is expected to return to Illinois' line-up before the conclusion of the fall season.

"We're coming along well, for this part of the season," Martin said. "We miss Phil and (seniors Amer Delic and Brian Wilson, who are playing as amateurs in professional tournaments throughout the fall). But it has definitely helped the guys that don't normally get a lot of playing time to learn to step up."

Calkins wasn't the only Illini to make a statement in the singles bracket. Sophomore Ryler DeHeart suffered a tough 7-5, 7-5 loss to Auburn's Gabor Zol Pelvo before rallying to advance into the second round of consolation play. DeHeart was the only Illini to compete in just the singles competition.

"I think Ryler and Michael each had pretty good performances and had opportunities to win," said Illinois head coach Craig Tiley.

Despite returning to Champaign without a title, Tiley is pleased with his team's accomplishments.

"Overall we made some progress this week," Tiley said. "We did not do as well at this event as we did last year, but overall we did have a good showing."