The tennis season is just beginning, but beginning today, several Illini will strive to capture the first two national titles of the collegiate season.

By Sunday, the first men’s singles and doubles title of the season will be handed out at the Polo Ralph Lauren/Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

For the Illini who begin competition Monday, the task ahead of them will not be an easy one – first they will have to make it through the qualifying round of the tournament. Then, they will have to fight through the 64-player main draw to have a shot at national recognition.

“The four guys who are playing qualies have been working hard, and we’ve been playing a lot of competition,” said Illinois head coach Brad Dancer. “So they should be battle-tested when they get to Tulsa.”

Those four Illini include senior Pramod Dabir, sophomores Ruben Gonzales and Monte Tucker and freshman Marc Spicijaric. The Illini will also have one doubles team in the qualifying competition, although, that team has not been decided.

The Illini agreed that their confidence and games have improved since their last competitions and are ready for the championships.

“I’m feeling pretty confident this time around,” freshman Marc Spicijaric said. “At Alabama, I was feeling pretty confident, but this time it’s different.”

Spicijaric hopes to use his youth to his benefit. He said he knows that some of his opponents may underestimate his athletic ability because he is a freshman, but he does not mind.

“That’s fine with me because they’ll take me lightly, so I’ll bring my best game and they, maybe, won’t be as prepared,” Spicijaric said.

The older members of the Illinois team making the trek to Tulsa are optimistic about their opportunities to do well there too.

Sophomores Ruben Gonzales and Monte Tucker are both familiar with various aspects of the tournament and are hoping to use them to their advantage. Tucker won his first match in the qualifying round of the tournament last season and is hoping to improve on those results.

“I’m hoping just to go in with a little more experience and use that to my advantage,” Tucker said. “I won’t be as nervous starting out.”

Gonzales said he will use his familiarity with the Michael D. Case Tennis Center to his advantage. When he was competing on the junior circuit, he had a lot of success at that tennis center, and the courts are well-suited to his style of play. However, the highly skilled competition is exciting on its own, Gonzales said.

“I feel honored to be playing there,” he said. “We’ll see a lot of good players there.”

The four Illini will need to win three matches in the qualifying tournament to play in the main draw, which features the top 64 collegiate tennis players in the country, including Illinois sophomore Kevin Anderson and senior Ryler DeHeart, who is the nation’s top singles player. To get all four Illinois tennis players through to the main draw would be “a dream,” Dancer said.

But, Dancer said, he feels that regardless of the men’s results they will have a good experience at the national event.

“Mostly we’re going there just to be as prepared as we can and have another great experience for the guys,” Dancer said.