In 26 years, members of the Illinois men’s tennis team have never won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championships.

Amer Delic advanced to the singles final in 2002.

Jeff Laski and Gavin Sontag reached the doubles final in 1999.

None of those men returned to Illinois with a title.

This season, Ryler DeHeart and GD Jones will attempt to win Illinois’ first titles at the ITA National Indoor Championships.

“They are the best players in our region, and now they are going to play against national competition,” said Illinois head coach Craig Tiley. “And I expect them to do well.”

Jones, a sophomore, will compete in doubles. He and DeHeart reached the semifinals of the ITA All-American Championships earlier this year to qualify. If anyone had any doubt the men belonged at the national tournament, they also won the ITA Midwest Regional Championships, defeating Ohio State’s Drew Eberly and Ross Wilson 8-5.

“I’m pissed off that I’m not playing singles and I’m looking forward to playing doubles,” Jones said. “I’ve never played a tournament in my life where I haven’t played singles, so it’s going to be kind of weird.”

However, Jones said he is looking forward to supporting DeHeart during his singles run. If he reaches the finals of the tournament, it will be only the sixth year the Big Ten has sent an athlete to the singles finals. Only two doubles teams from the Big Ten have reached the finals of the event.

“I’ll be pumped for him to do well,” Jones said.

DeHeart qualified for the ITA National Indoor Championships in singles as well. He won the regional singles title, topping Michigan’s Brian Hung 6-3, 6-4.

“It’s going to be a tough draw, and I think it’ll be a great opportunity for me to play some tough matches against some top players and have some fun,” DeHeart said of the singles tournament.

Unlike many of the other athletes competing in the event, the Illini are familiar with Michigan’s Varsity Tennis Center – where they swept the regional tournament in October. The courts are the same. The men know how to put the perfect topspin on each tennis ball they hit. They are also comfortable with the area, staying in the same hotels and eating at familiar restaurants.

More importantly, they have played together for almost a year and said they are not intimidated by the competition.

The three top seeds of the tournament are the men who have won the last three national doubles titles. Scott Green and Wilson from Ohio State won the All-American Championships. KC Corkery and Sam Warburg of Stanford won the 2004 NCAA doubles title. And Ludovic Walter and Jason Zimmerman of Duke won the National Indoor Championships last year.

“I don’t think anything about it is particularly phasing,” Jones said. “I’ve certainly played much bigger events. This is a prestigious tournament, for sure, but it’s nothing new as far as intense competition is concerned.”