Ruben Gonzales and Ryler DeHeart cannot decide who has a heavier forehand, but it doesn’t matter.

Both men are hitting their strides as tennis players on the Illinois men’s tennis team.

Gonzales, the 59th-ranked tennis player in the country, won his first Big Ten Player of the Week honor last Wednesday. DeHeart was the first Big Ten Player of the Week this season.

“It’s a good honor,” Gonzales said. “There are a lot of good players in the conference.”

Gonzales earned the award for his back-to-back singles victories against Clemson’s Ryan Young 6-1, 6-4 and Harvard’s Christopher Clayton 7-5, 7-6(3), during the team’s lone doubleheader of the season.

Gonzales and DeHeart went undefeated in doubles that weekend as well. On the court, Gonzales is determined, relentless and focused, said Illinois head coach Brad Dancer.

Many of his teammates, including freshman Marc Spicijaric, look up to him because of the leadership he provides.

“If I could pick a few people to go into battle with, Ruben would be one of them for sure,” Spicijaric said. “The guy has heart, character and he’s a great tennis player and a great person.”

Since his freshman year, Gonzales’ teammates have referred to him as “The Rock” because when he is on the court he hardly ever loses, Illinois junior GD Jones said. Last season, Gonzales won the crucial fourth point to help the Illini advance into the finals of the Big Ten tournament that Illinois hosted at the Atkins Tennis Center. In that match, he beat Northwestern’s Willy Lock 6-3, 7-5.

“We knew that if we needed a point, especially last season, Ruben was going to win,” Jones said. “He has a very mature personality on the court – you know that he’s always going to make the right decision.”

Although he is calm on the court, his personality off the court is dramatically different. Sometimes, Gonzales can be calm and quiet. At other times, he’s the team’s comedian, Dancer said.

Gonzales’ award is well-deserved. He started revamping his tennis game and working to improve his fitness level as soon as his freshman season ended.

He said his defense, backhand and returns have gotten a lot better since his freshman year. This is the first time Gonzales has won the Big Ten Player of the Week award, but he said he is more excited about the award because he is the third Illini to be honored this season.

Jones won the award for his performance against Duke, the week before Gonzales’ award-winning performance.

“Two players on our team got the award two weeks in a row,” Gonzales said. “So that is pretty good for the team.”