The Illinois men’s tennis season is winding down, but the competition at the Atkins Tennis Center is getting more intense.

No. 2 Illinois faces No. 19 Kentucky today. The match, which was originally scheduled for 5:30 p.m., has been moved to 5 p.m.

“We always have a close match with them,” said Illinois head coach Craig Tiley. “And it’s always a key match for us at the end of the year.”

The Illini beat the Wildcats 4-2 the last time the teams faced each other at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Indoor Team Championships in Chicago, but the win did not come easily.

Illinois dropped the doubles point and got behind early in the competition. Although they rallied to win last time, the men said they know they cannot get behind early this time.

“A lot of times we get a slow start and mosey our way into the match, and whenever we do that, we end up losing,” said Illinois junior Ryler DeHeart. “It’s really important for us to get a good start and come out swinging and put (our opponents) on our heels.”

However, Illinois junior Pramod Dabir said the Illini have improved their doubles play since the ITA National Indoor Team Championships and are ready to face the Wildcats.

DeHeart and sophomore GD Jones are No. 8 in the nation in doubles competition. However, the Wildcats counter with the tandem of Jesse Witten and Tigran Martirosyan, the nation’s No. 12 team.

“We’re definitely playing a lot better doubles, and we have everyone healthy right now,” Dabir said. “I think that we’re going to be able to come out and win the doubles point and win the match.”

Illinois’ roster was slightly depleted the last time the teams clashed. In February, Illinois senior Chris Martin was injured and unable to compete.

However, the Wildcats will enter the match with a slightly different lineup. Nate Emge, who was forced to retire with an injury during the teams’ last meeting – costing the Wildcats a point – is healthy again as well.

“They beat us in doubles last time, so that will be something that we want to rectify,” Jones, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, said. “We have a lot more experience and confidence in our doubles so we just need to make the right decisions and execute.”

There are other Illini who have losses to avenge when they face the Wildcats.

DeHeart has a personal vendetta against the Wildcats as well.

Witten, the Wildcats’ No. 1 player – who is No. 4 in the nation – beat DeHeart the last time the men played each other. DeHeart, the nation’s No. 5 singles player, defeated Witten to win the title at the ITA National Indoor Championships in November. DeHeart’s 6-1, 6-4 win over Witten made him Illinois’ first ITA National Indoor singles champion, but he said he would like to use the opportunity to play Witten this week to prove that he is, in fact, the better player.

“I’d like to get another opportunity to play him,” DeHeart said. “If you get on him, he is definitely beatable.”

Witten might be beatable, but the match will still be close and fairly unpredictable. The Illini are playing at home on a weekday for the first time this season. The Illini also played Big Ten foe Ohio State – the toughest rival in the conference – on Sunday.

“It’s plenty of time (to recover),” Jones said. “I’m more used to playing back-to-back days for six or seven days during a tournament situation so it’s no big deal at all.”

Still, Tiley knows the match would be intense, regardless of when the teams played.

“They’re a top-10 team for sure,” Tiley said. “It’s going to be our toughest match the rest of the way, including the Big Ten Tournament.”