It was a weekend of firsts for the Illinois men’s tennis team, but the Illini got the job done, defeating Penn State 6-1 at the Penn State Tennis Center on Saturday.

“I don’t think we played well,” said Illinois head coach Craig Tiley. “The match was a lot closer than the score indicates.”

Among the many firsts, it was the first real road trip for the team this season. Throughout the fall season, the athletes compete as individuals in tournaments. Many of the tournament sites are neutral or have a limited fan base. This was the first time the Illini were exposed to an unfavorable crowd.

“When you’re playing on the road there are only your teammates cheering for you, and it really helps when you can look into the crowd, see them and draw your energy from them,” said Illinois junior Ryler DeHeart.

It was also the first match of the Big Ten season. Illinois, which will attempt to win its ninth consecutive Big Ten title, cannot risk taking any match within conference play lightly.

“The Big Ten means a lot to this team and program,” said Illinois senior Evan Zeder. “We’ve always had a lot of success in the Big Ten and it’s a tradition we plan on continuing.”

Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota are ranked among the top 50 schools in the nation. Many of the teams are much improved since last season and will challenge the Illini.

“We’re not going to blow every team off the court,” Zeder said.

However, the Illini did seal the victory last weekend, winning the crucial – and until now, often elusive – doubles point to start the match with a 1-0 lead.

“We made a statement beating them 6-1,” DeHeart said. “It shows the other Big Ten schools that we’re the ones to be reckoned with and that we will be a dominant force in the Big Ten.”

Illinois then blazed through the singles competition with a standout performance from DeHeart, who defeated Mark Barry 7-5, 4-6, 7-6.

Illinois associate head coach Brad Dancer defined DeHeart’s performance as “gutsy.”

“It was exciting to watch him pull that out,” Dancer said.

Another Illini athlete that was crucial to the team’s success was junior Pramod Dabir, who returned to the singles lineup for the first time since spraining his ankle in the team’s match against Florida State on Jan. 28. Dabir and DeHeart joined forces to win their doubles match 8-6 over Malcolm Scatliffe and Barry. Dabir also went on to win his singles match 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 over Bradley Hunter.

“It definitely feels good – it was exciting to play and get a match under my belt,” Dabir said. “It wasn’t a pretty performance, but we got it done.”

Dabir and DeHeart also had to bounce back quickly from their tough loss against Baylor last week. The juniors have experienced only one other loss while at Illinois – a 4-1 loss against UCLA in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships last May. Dabir said both matches have left the men “a little bitter… (they) aren’t use to losing dual matches.”

But, Dabir also said the men are ready for the rest of the season. The team will focus on executing better, practicing with as much enthusiasm as it has in competition and perfecting its doubles games. The team will also focus on maintaining its Big Ten winning streak. The Illini have won their last 40 Big Ten matches.

“(Winning) has become a little bit of second nature to us,” DeHeart said. “We’re used to laying it on the line every time (we play), and the more we do that, the easier it becomes.”