The 37th-ranked University of Minnesota men's tennis team fell to 6-3 in the Big Ten today with a 6-1 loss to No. 5 Illinois in Urbana, Ill. The Golden Gophers (12-11, 6-3) went 0-3 in doubles and 1-5 in singles to see their losing streak vs. Illinois reach 17 matches.

UI opened the afternoon with a sweep of three doubles matches to take the early 1-0 lead. After an 8-1 win at No. 3, Illinois' two ranked doubles duos posted 8-3 wins to complete the sweep. At No. 1, sixth-ranked Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe downed Andres Osorio and Sion Wilkins, while 12th-ranked Ryler DeHeart and Pramod Dabir defeated Nic Edlefsen and D.J. Geatz. With their loss, Edlefsen and Geatz suffered a defeat for only the second time in the last seven matches.

Illinois cruised to the team victory with straight-set singles wins at Nos. 1, 5 and 6. At No. 1, eighth-ranked DeHeart upended 61st-ranked Geatz, 6-1, 6-2 to push Geatz's record against ranked opponents to 7-6 this spring. Illinois then clinched the team win with 6-2, 6-3 wins by Marc Spicijaric and Dabir over Sion Wilkins and Mikey Kantar at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively.

The Maroon and Gold gained their lone win of the day at No. 4 as Raoul Schwark out- lasted Ruben Gonzales, 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (4). With the victory, Schwark won for the 12th time in the last 13 matches. He is now 17-6 this spring, including an 8-1 mark in Big Ten play. Illinois closed out the dual with three-set wins at Nos. 2 and 3. At No. 2, 77th-ranked GD Jones edged Osorio, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 1-0 (8), while 21st-ranked Anderson downed 120th- ranked Edlefsen, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 1-0 (7) at No. 3.

The Golden Gophers wrap up the regular season at 12 p.m., tomorrow at Purdue before returning home to host the 2006 Big Ten Championship on April 27-30 at the Baseline Tennis Center.

No. 37 Minnesota at No. 5 Illinois
April 22, 2006
Atkins Tennis Center
Urbana, Ill.

Singles
1. #8 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) def. #61 D.J. Geatz (MN), 6-1, 6-2
2. #77 GD Jones (ILL) def. Andres Osorio (MN), 5-7, 7-6 (4), 1-0 (8)
3. #21 Kevin Anderson (ILL) def. #120 Nic Edlefsen (MN), 6-4, 6-7 (7), 1-0 (7)
4. Raoul Schwark (MN) def. Ruben Gonzales (ILL), 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (4)
5. Marc Spicijaric (ILL) def. Sion Wilkins (MN), 6-2, 6-3
6. Pramod Dabir (ILL) def. Mikey Kantar (MN), 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 1,6,5,4,3,2

Doubles
1. #6 Anderson/Rowe (ILL) def. Osorio/Wilkins (MN), 8-3
2. #12 DeHeart/Dabir (ILL) def. Edlefsen/Geatz (MN) 8-3
3. Jones/Gonzales (ILL) def. Kantar/Schwark (MN), 8-1
Order of finish: 3,1,2

#5 Illinois def. #37 Minnesota, 6-1