They came to Illinois as a class of three. Pramod Dabir, Ryler DeHeart and Rajeev Ram were expected to help fulfill former head coach Craig Tiley’s tennis dynasty that was nearly a decade in the making.

They did.

The trio helped Illinois to its first NCAA team title in 2003. Within a week, Ram had teamed with then-junior Brian Wilson to win the NCAA doubles title. But Ram would not stay in college long. He jumped to the professional circuit after his freshman year, leaving Dabir and DeHeart behind.

Those men, who were bright-eyed, eager and attentive freshmen, used their years at Illinois to morph the face of Illinois tennis forever.

“They’re all about business right now,” said Illinois freshman Marc Spicijaric. “They’re always going to go out and give 110 percent.”

Energetic and excitable, Dabir is the vocal leader who is quick to crack jokes and belt out the lyrics to rap songs when they blare over the sound system during warmups at Atkins Tennis Center before home matches.

“Pramod brings a lot of positive energy to the courts,” Spicijaric said. “On match day, he competes and gets fired up.”

DeHeart is the quiet leader. After fighting for two years to get into and stay in the Illinois lineup, DeHeart took collegiate tennis by storm his junior year when he won the singles title at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Singles Championships.

DeHeart also grabbed the No.1 singles ranking in the nation, becoming only the second Illini in history to accomplish that feat.

There was no turning back.

DeHeart had become the new poster child of collegiate tennis – an athlete with insatiable hunger to perform his best and a student who excelled at his pscyhology and pre-medicine studies.

“Ryler has been a great leader for this team and role model,” Dabir said. “He shows how tough of a competitor he is.”

Although DeHeart has become the face of college tennis, it is Dabir who has become the soul of the Illinois men’s tennis team, and its true inspiration, DeHeart said.

Balancing tennis while earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Dabir epitomizes the student-athlete.

“Pramod has been great. He has amazed me with his ability to do his work and be able to play tennis,” DeHeart said. “I admire that.”

The seniors are also the last remaining links to Illinois’ NCAA-title winning team of 2003. The rest of that team has dispersed across the conference, country and world.

Bruce Berque, then an associate head coach at Illinois, is now the head coach at Michigan. Former Illinois leader Craig Tiley is now in charge of player development for Tennis Australia.The other members of that team have moved on as well, pursuing their own careers and playing professional tennis.

“Pramod and Ryler came in here and won a national championship; the numbers speak enough for themselves, but (then) there is their spirit. They have been tremendous leaders for us,” said Illinois head coach Brad Dancer. “Those two guys together have been everything to us.”

Illinois’ underclassmen that Dabir and DeHeart helped recruit agree.

“Pramod has always taught me to be there for my teammates,” said Illinois sophomore Ryan Rowe. “He has the fight and the energy out there.”

After learning a great deal from their leaders and hearing stories about the title-winning team, the Illini feel certain that they will make a return to the national championship in the near future. The 2003 team, the seniors say, was not only incredibly talented, but was one of the most close-knit teams they have ever been a part of.

They also know that, when healthy, this year’s rendition of the Illini are among the nation’s best teams, and Dabir and DeHeart would like nothing more than to help their team return to, and win, the NCAA Championships.

Although the postseason pressure is mounting, Dancer said that he knows the seniors will be able to use their experience in the NCAA Championships to captain the team to a strong finish this season, and that the seniors have done their part to leave the program in good shape in the future.

“You are almost honored as a coach to have two guys of that quality, not only in terms of tennis ability but also because of the people that they are,” Dancer said. “I don’t expect anything out of them, I’m just proud of them. Their futures are very bright.”