Four teams will begin their NCAA Tournament run Saturday at the Atkins Tennis Center; only one will emerge victorious.

Quinnipiac, the Northeast Conference tournament champion, faces Illinois in the first match of the weekend on Saturday at 10 a.m. The Bobcats, who hail from the same conference as Illinois basketball’s first-round conquest Fairleigh Dickinson, are competing in their second-consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Illini hope to return to the NCAA finals. In 2003, the Illini won the national title. In 2004, the men lost in the semifinals to UCLA.

“We may not be the favorite this year, but we know a lot teams want to beat us,” said Illinois head coach Craig Tiley in a press release.

Tiley’s team will see several tough opponents early on. The winner of the first-round match between Notre Dame and Louisville will await the winner of the Illinois vs. Quinnipiac match on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Still, the Illini are not going to look ahead.

“If you look too far ahead you’re thinking about who you might play if you win instead of just focusing on that one match,” said Illinois junior Ryler DeHeart.

So, instead of looking forward to a potential rematch against Kentucky, which beat the Illini on their home courts in April, Illinois will focus on Quinnipiac.

“We have to be on our toes and not underestimate any opponent, especially this late in the season,” DeHeart said.

Illinois is still a young team. Many of the men have never felt the pressure of playing for the NCAA team title. But the men who were on the national championship team are determined to return to college tennis’ marquee stage.

“Every year, I think there is one team that always just gets hot and always has a really good run at the NCAA tournament,” said Illinois senior Evan Zeder. “I think that we can be that team this year and have a great run and give ourselves a shot to win the national championship.”

But that championship run might be a little more difficult than in previous years.

Zeder said a meeting with Notre Dame or Louisville would be a more difficult match up then the Illini have seen in the second round of the tournament recently.

Notre Dame is No. 32 in the nation. The Fighting Irish are coached by Bobby Bayliss, who has led his team into the NCAA tournament 14 times in the last 15 years. Louisville is No. 33 in the nation. Earlier this season, the Cardinals achieved a program-high No. 24 national ranking. The first-round match between the Cardinals and the Fighting Irish will mark the first time the teams have met since 1988. After this weekend, though, the two teams will become regular rivals when Louisville makes the jump to the Big East conference next year. The Cardinals are currently members of Conference USA.

However, the Illini are planning on using the energy and excitement their fans bring to help propel them to the Sweet 16. If the number of fans that turned out for the Big Ten Championships is any indication of the support the men will have during the regional competition, DeHeart said the Illini will have a huge advantage when they take the courts this weekend.

Illinois freshman Ruben Gonzales said the crowd support is important, especially when his family is on hand. Gonzales said he expects many of his family members to make the trek to College Station, Texas, if the men advance.

“Obviously, I don’t look into the crowd when I’m playing, but just to know that they’re there is good,” Gonzales said. “I know that my team is always supporting me, but it’s nice for them to be there.”

Looking Ahead

Approximately 24 hours after the outcome of the Quinnipiac vs. Illinois match has been decided, the winner will square off against the winner of the Louisville vs. Notre Dame match. The second round of the NCAA regional tournament will be held at the Atkins Tennis Center at 1 p.m. Sunday.

This marks the seventh-consecutive year the Illini have hosted the event and the second consecutive time Louisville has traveled to Urbana in search of a trip to the Sweet 16. Notre Dame will come to town after having hosted the Illini on March 17. The March meeting between the teams resulted in a 6-1 Illinois victory.

“We always have tough matches against Notre Dame,” said Illinois senior Evan Zeder. “We know the Notre Dame players and we can judge how much we’ve improved over the last few weeks.”

A potential match up against Notre Dame would pit two of the best coaches from their respective conferences against each other. Illinois head coach Craig Tiley was the Big Ten Coach of the Year this season, the seventh time in the last eight years he has won the award. Notre Dame head coach Bobby Bayliss won Big East Coach of the Year honors this season, his fifth Big East Coach of the Year honor while at Notre Dame.

By the second round, the pressure will be mounting for both teams. Illinois junior Ryler DeHeart said that could help the Illini excel.

“When the regular season comes to an end, there is always that feeling that ‘now is the time’ to step up your game and ‘this is the time,'” DeHeart said. “The regular season matters, but really, nothing matters until the end. And this is the time – if any time – to buckle down and start really going after it.”

The urgency at the Atkins Tennis Center is increasing too, as each practice ends and there is less time to make adjustments to athletes’ games.

“From now on, it is single elimination; if you lose you’re out,” DeHeart said.

This year, the road to the championships will be full of chances for redemption for the Illini, if they continue to advance. The Illini could see Baylor, which beat the Illini in the semifinals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Team Championships, in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships.

“A national title for Baylor will have to come through us,” said Illinois senior Evan Zeder. “And if we want to get it we have to go through them.”

If the teams clash, it would not be until the semifinals of the NCAA Championships at Texas A&M.;

Illinois freshman Brandon Davis is excited to return to Texas. His Austin, Texas, home is approximately an hour and a half from the Texas A&M; campus. The tournament will mark the first time his family has been able to see him play since he joined the Illinois team.

And although Davis is excited to play in his first NCAA tournament, he knows that the championships will be much different than any other tournament the men have played in.

“It’s going to be a lot tougher than any tournament that we have played in,” Davis said. “It’s going to be very intense.”

Several Illini are destine for College Station, Texas, and the Texas A&M; campus already.

Illinois junior Ryler DeHeart, sophomore GD Jones and freshman Kevin Anderson earned places in the NCAA singles tournament. DeHeart and Jones also earned a spot in the doubles competition.

But the individual achievements will be secondary to any success the team has, DeHeart said.

“My main goal is to just do well as a team and then, hopefully I can build on that performance and take that into the individual tournament,” DeHeart said. “But I don’t think that I’d be happy if we didn’t do well and I had to play the individual tournament. It just wouldn’t be the same.”