After an eventful summer, the Illinois men’s tennis team is back in action.

Although the offseason featured the loss of Illinois head coach Craig Tiley, who had facilitied the fastest turnaround in college tennis history, these Illini seem relatively unphased.

They journey to Napa Valley, Calif., this weekend for their first tournament of the fall season.

The tournament will be significant for several reasons. The Illini have not competed since former associate head coach Brad Dancer took over the team. This is also the first time the Illini have competed under the direction of first-year assistant coach Kent Kinnear.

Dancer has high expectations for the team.

“We want to see the guys make the most of their opportunities,” Dancer said.

Still, many of the Illini feel they will be able to use this invitational as an opportunity to gauge how far their games have progressed since they lost to Florida State in the Sweet Sixteen last May.

Perennial power Georgia, North Carolina and California will compete at the event.

“It will be nice to see them early because hopefully we’ll see them late,” Dancer said of Georgia.

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association has high expectations for the Illini, though. Six of the members of the men’s tennis team are ranked in the nation’s top-125 singles tennis players.

Senior Ryler DeHeart is No.1.

Junior GD Jones and Kevin Anderson are also placed in the nation’s top 20.

Sophomores Ruben Gonzales and Monte Tucker, as well as freshman Marc Spicijaric, are also in the top 125.

Although the rankings are enough to have most teams excited, the Illini are most excited about the upcoming weekend. The Illini agree that the Napa Valley Invitational is one of the most fun trips the team takes each year – the landscape is beautiful and the people who host the team are exceptionally nice, sophomore Brandon Davis said.

Davis went through the tournament undefeated in singles last year, knowing that he has had success there has made him more confident about his return trip. He also noted the difference between the structure of the fall and spring tennis seasons. The fall season is the one chance the Illini have to fine-tune their tennis skills before they begin the spring season, which will determine whether or not they will earn various recognitions from the Big Ten conference and the ITA.

Tucker said the team will use this weekend to show how powerful the Illinois tennis program is.

“It’s the same thing, it’s just a different day,” Tucker said. “We just want to go out there and beat these guys as badly as we can.”

For at least two Illini, this will be the beginning of their last seasons.

Illinois senior Pramod Dabir believes that this tournament will help the Illini set the tone for the rest of the fall season and his Illinois career.

“Hopefully, it will be a good start to a good year,” Dabir said.

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