The Ohio State – Illinois rivalry has always been one for the record books.

On Sunday, the Illini men’s tennis team will clash with the Buckeyes, bringing together the Big Ten’s only two top-10 teams. Although still early in the conference schedule, the match could eventually determine the Big Ten regular season conference champion. But the Illini are determined to overcome their opponents.

“We’re going to go in there and prove that we’re the best team in the nation, because we haven’t really done that in the last six matches,” said Illinois sophomore Brandon Davis.

Sophomore Kevin Anderson agreed.

“I know we’re a better team, so we’ve just got to go down there and get it done,” Anderson said.

Illinois, the nation’s fifth-ranked team, will be forced to rebound quickly from a disappointing loss to Stanford on Wednesday night if it wants to have a shot at upending No. 6 Ohio State and winning its 10th-straight regular season Big Ten title.

“They’ll be fired up and think that this is a great shot to get us, especially coming off this loss,” said Illinois head coach Brad Dancer said. “But we’ll see our resiliency, just like after Texas (the Illini dropped matches to Texas and Texas A&M; this year before beating USC and Florida), we’ll see how resilient we are.”

Ohio State is one of the few Big Ten teams that has threatened Illinois in the past. However, the Buckeyes have not been able to beat the Illini. The last time Illinois lost a Big Ten regular season match was in April of 1997 against Indiana.

“There’s not really a rivalry when only one team wins,” Anderson said.

The match will feature not only two of the best teams in the nation, but two of the best doubles duos in the country. Ohio State seniors Scott Green and Ross Wilson are the second-ranked doubles team in the country, and have teamed up to win three national titles during their collegiate careers, capturing a crown at every national tournament except the NCAA Championships. Illinois’ Anderson and sophomore Ryan Rowe, the nation’s third-ranked tandem, will be prepared to knock off the higher-ranked duo. However, Anderson said he and Rowe will be well-prepared to take on the team because of the high-caliber competition they have played in the past.

Although Anderson was taken out of the singles lineup on Wednesday to rest an injury he is expected to play against the Buckeyes, Dancer said. But the Illini know that they will have to be able to compensate for missing players in case injuries develop in the future.

“We have to go out there and prove that we can win even if we’re a man down,” Davis said.

Both Anderson and Illinois junior GD Jones had to pass up the opportunity to represent their native countries in Davis Cup this weekend to rest recurring injuries and compete in the match against the Buckeyes. Jones, who played in three ties for New Zealand last year, is undefeated in Davis Cup competition. Anderson was first tapped to be a member of the South African team this fall; however, he would not have been guaranteed a playing position against Georgia this weekend and did not want to leave the Illini for 10 days if he was not guaranteed the chance to play for South Africa.

Anderson has lost just one singles match during the dual-match season. Anderson and Rowe are undefeated in doubles. Jones is undefeated in Big Ten singles action. Dancer said he feels much more confident in the team’s ability to succeed when both men are healthy and able to compete.

“We’re pleased to have them with us,” Dancer said. “It shows their commitment to Illinois tennis because they are giving up this opportunity to play Davis Cup to help us take another step toward another regular season conference championship.”