I had never been to a tennis match before Friday afternoon.

It wasn’t that I had anything against tennis. I watch the majors and can hold my own in “Topspin 3.” I just had never made my way out to the Atkins Tennis Center to watch a match.

When I arrived, I was overwhelmed by the amount that was going on. With three doubles matches on three different courts, I couldn’t tell which I was supposed to watch. I decided to just follow the lead of the Net Nuts, the men’s tennis student section. They kept their heads on a swivel, switching their focus between Alex Jesse and Jared Hiltzik; Ross Guignon and Tim Kopinski; and Brian Page and Farris Gosea.

I said in my first column last week that I would shed light on the teams that don’t get as much recognition. The men’s tennis team did very well. It gave Ohio State all it could handle in a 4-3 loss. Freshman Jared Hiltzik upset the No. 9 player in the country in two sets. But that isn’t what stood out to me.

What stood out the most was the fans.

They amazed me. They all knew who to watch and how to cheer, just the way I know what to do at football or men’s basketball games. There were 20-30 members of the Net Nuts in attendance, all sporting orange shirts, and many wore bandanas. They knew the Illini by name and sprinkled advice into their cheers.

In addition to the Net Nuts, there was a large contingent of older people, and children clad in tennis garb.

The man sitting next to me drove from Toledo, Ohio, to watch the Buckeyes. Though he had never played tennis before, the Buckeyes fan drove five and a half hours for the competition.

The biggest fans, however, were the teammates of the competitors. Both Illini and Buckeyes flew around the courts whooping and hollering.

Throughout the doubles matches, the loudest cheers came from the student-athletes. They sprinted around, giving everyone a little love. They were able to make up for the quiet demeanor of the small, but loyal following.

“It has to start,” Illinois men’s tennis head coach Brad Dancer told senior Bruno Abdelnour.

Illinois had jumped out to a 1-0 lead against No. 5 Ohio State, becoming the first Big Ten team to beat the Buckeyes in doubles play. The crowd, which had been rowdy as Illinois’ top two doubles teams claimed victories, was beginning to quiet down, with standing fans dropping like flies to their seats.

But Dancer didn’t want that.

He wanted the crowd in the match, and he wanted his injured senior leader to make it happen.

Abdelnour grabbed freshmen Julian Childers and Page and got them to start the familiar “I-L-L, I-N-I” chant.  

After much prodding from the Illini trio, the crowd started to respond.

“Great job. Don’t stop,” Dancer told his players as they got the crowd more involved.

Eventually the trio was able to liven up the crowd and help will Hiltzik to victory, though the Illini failed to take down the Buckeyes.

Abdelnour, Page and Childers are not outliers. The Buckeyes athletes had the same role. Athletes on Olympic sport rosters everywhere know the deal: Compete and cheerlead.

Johnathan is a sophomore in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @IlliniColumnist.