The Illinois men's tennis team heads to East Lansing, Mich., this weekend to prove they are still a force in the Midwest.

The Illini placed three men in the semi-finals last year at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional.

Illinois seniors Brian Wilson and Phil Stolt advanced to earn berths to the finals. Stolt took the tournament crown when Wilson withdrew from the tournament with a hamstring injury.

However, the Illini have only one man returning from that dominant trio. Stolt is recovering from back surgery and Wilson is competing as an amateur in professional tournaments throughout the fall.

"I would not say that it's beyond (this team's) capability to do the same thing," Illinois associate head coach Bruce Berque said. "I would say that it's a stretch. Last year, our talent level was clearly the best in the Regional and the best in the country. This year the guys are going to have to play their best tennis to match that feat."

The Illini are ready to meet the challenge.

"We're all feeling confident. I think we're ready to make a statement to the region that we're still a top team," Illinois junior Chris Martin said. "The team's got a new look this year. We've got a couple of old faces and a couple of new guys who will step up."

One Illini who will be forced to step up early on is junior Evan Zeder who will face No.1-seed Jeremy Wurtzman in the opening round. The Buckeye defeated Illinois senior Michael Calkins, en route to a quarterfinal berth at the All-American tournament earlier this month.

"Everybody on the team knows (Wurtzman) and most guys on the team have played against him," Zeder said. "I'm just looking to go out there and play my game. It'll be a good opportunity for me to go out there and make a statement."

Calkins will look to make a statement as well. The last time he played on the East Lansing courts he claimed the Big Ten Singles title as a sophomore.

"I thought I played really well at All-Americans," Calkins said. "(Regionals) is indoors and the courts there suit me well. I have a lot of confidence and I know that I play well there. We've always done well at Regionals."

The lone Illini senior will have two additional challenges: he's the No. 2 seeded player in the tournament, and he has a new doubles partner.

"Everyone is going to come out with nothing to lose (against me), since I'll probably be the favorite in most of my matches." Calkins said. "It'll be a good challenge for me. I'm going to have to focus from the first point on."

Martin will join Calkins for the first time this season. Zeder, who has played with Martin in the past, will team up with junior Conner Murnighan.

The coaches were left without a doubles team fully intact after last season. Berque and Illinois head coach Craig Tiley evaluated the doubles pairings after the All-American tournament, which Martin and Zeder qualified for together in the summer. The new adjustments don't seem to have the players too worried.

"Michael is an experienced, accomplished, great doubles player and I feel confident when I'm with him," Martin said. "I really think that we are going to do some damage this tournament."

Besides being able to look at the two new doubles pairings, Illinois sophomores Ryler DeHeart and Pramod Dabir will continue to play together, the team will also see a preview of their top competition in the spring.

"This is the first tournament where every team gets to look at all of the new guys on the teams," Calkins said. "Everyone will be there. Everyone expects us to do well; we just have to make a strong showing. If we can go out there and put up the results, then it's going to make a statement going into the spring tournaments."