After a year-long hiatus, the Illinois men’s tennis team will send an athlete to the main draw of the only professional tournament the team hosts.

Illinois sophomore and All-American Kevin Anderson advanced to the main draw of the 2005 United States Tennis Association Challenger of Champaign-Urbana this weekend, when he beat Jeremy Wurtzman in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.

Wurtzman, a former collegiate No. 1 and Ohio State standout, could not outlast Anderson, who was recovering from a knee injury.

“It’s great to have qualified – it’s just another chance to play,” Anderson said. “When you’ve been playing for so long, you don’t actually lose the ability to hit tennis balls. It’s just at 30-all, having the confidence and belief that shows when you go out there.”

Despite being nervous because he was playing in his first challenger event, Anderson quickly proved what he was made of. Anderson also proved that his forehand is beginning to become a weapon, Illinois head coach Brad Dancer said.

Although Anderson was the only Illini to advance to the main draw of the tournament, there will be several men representing the tennis team in the main draw.

“It’s a good opportunity for the community, for all of the guys who followed these guys’ careers to come out and see everyone on a professional level, which is different than when they were college players,” tournament director Jim Tressler said.

Illinois senior All-American Ryler DeHeart will play Brian Baker not before 6:30 p.m. at the Atkins Tennis Center. Four former Illini All-Americans will also take the courts today as well when Michael Calkins and Amer Delic, who finished his Illini career in 2003, take on former Illini Rajeev Ram and doubles partner Justin Gimelstob, who played for UCLA, not before 5 p.m. Former Illini Brian Wilson will take on Chris Guccione of Australia. Tressler said that tonight’s lineup would be one of the most exciting in the history of the tournament.

“I’m excited about playing at night, hopefully we’ll get a good crowd,” Wilson said. “I’ve already seen tons of people, but I would have liked to be here a little bit earlier. I know we have a lot of backing, and that’s going to help.”

Illinois sophomore Ryan Rowe, senior Pramod Dabir and freshman Marc Spicijaric each won their first-round singles matches. However, they were not as successful during the second round, when each of the individuals lost. Rowe lost to Wurtzman.

“I went out there, and I stuck with him,” Rowe said. “A couple shots here and there went a little bit his way. Things ended up his way today.”

But, for all of the Illini, this weekend was more about matching their skills against those of the professionals, rather than winning.

“It was good to come out here and see that I could play (with them),” Rowe said. “Playing was great – the level is a lot different, and I’m excited about the next challenger that I play.”

Spicijaric said the hardest part about playing against former Illinois tennis player Evan Zeder during his first round match was Zeder’s electrifying personality and ability to manipulate the match with his energy. It was Spicijaric’s first match at the Atkins Tennis Center.

“He played well, but I wasn’t on top of my game,” Spicijaric said. “I think that it was a match that I was expected to win.”

Illinois also had one doubles team advance to the main draw of the tournament. Anderson and sophomore teammate Brandon Davis defeated Kiantki Thomas and Daniel Wendler 6-4, 7-6 (4) to earn a spot in the tournament’s main draw. This is the first time that Davis has been in the main draw of a challenger, he said.

“The support from the school and all of the fans of our team makes this a really fun tournament,” Davis said.

Davis said he feeds off of Anderson’s ability to hit big serves to make easy returns.

“He makes me look good by getting all of these easy balls at the net.”