Associate tennis coach George Husack said senior Brandon Davis has been texting him with an hourly countdown.

The countdown was for the Polo Ralph Lauren/ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., which take place from Oct. 4 through Oct. 7.

Davis will compete in doubles with 2006-07 All-American Ryan Rowe, who will also be playing in the championships’ singles tournament. Some prestigious names include last year’s singles national champion Somdev Devvarman out of Virginia, this year’s No. 2-ranked Steven Moneke (Ohio State) and No. 3 Arnau Brugues (Tulsa). Rowe is ranked No. 9 in the nation among singles players.

The Davis-Rowe combo will be a change of scenery for both players, as Rowe teamed up with now-professional Kevin Anderson the past couple of years. Plus, this is the first time Davis has traveled to the All-American Championships.

“I want to come out there and show the schools that even though Kevin left, Illinois has some dominant players coming out there to do well and rise to the occasion,” Rowe said.

Husack noted that Davis and Rowe complement each other well.

“Brandon is a tremendous finisher at the net, and Ryan can really set points up in their favor with the placement in the spins that he has on his serve,” Husack said.

There are also advantages when Davis serves.

“With Brandon serving a ball in play, Ryan’s got a huge wingspan as it is, so in that sense I think there’s a great combination there,” Husack said.

Davis agrees that he is savvy when volleying close to the net, and Husack called him a “tremendous finisher.”

The 6-feet-5 Rowe has confidence that the duo he is a part of will fare well against the talented field in the first national tournament of the year. He especially appreciates the progression in Davis’ play. Last season, Davis was voted the team’s most improved player.

“Brandon’s abilities have skyrocketed,” Rowe said. “I hope that we can come out and put some good doubles out there together.”

The route that led to both players teaming up has been somewhat scenic. Rowe would have played with junior Marc Spicijaric for this tournament – a doubles team ranked sixth nationally by the preseason Fila ITA poll – but Spicijaric has a groin injury.

Rowe said he has been battling plantar fasciitis in his right foot for a little more than a month, but has been improving his mobility as of late.

Davis is happy about that and feels ready for the next few days.

“The last couple weeks we’ve been stepping up our match play,” Davis said. “Also, we’ve been doing quite a bit of conditioning, so I think we’re both in pretty good shape.”

Aside from success in doubles, Ryan said he expects to individually perform well.

“I’m going there to win the tournament,” Rowe said. “No one’s going to go there to lose. I’m excited to get out there and play some tennis and see some competition.”

Rowe wants to make it clear that the plantar fasciitis will not slow him down.

“I’m not going to hold back,” he said.