CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The men's tennis program at Illinois has gone from laughingstock to powerhouse in a decade, thanks to coach Craig Tiley.
The South Africa native became interim coach in 1992, when the Illini finished 4-23. He was promoted to head coach the following year, and Illinois went 13-15.
That was the last time the team had a losing season.
Illinois dominated the sport this spring, going 32-0 and winning the Big Ten title for the seventh straight year before sweeping the team, singles and doubles titles at the NCAA championships.
"We had a three-year goal, a five-year goal and a 10-year goal," Tiley said Wednesday. "After 10 years was to be a national champion and to be regarded as one of the premier men's tennis programs. We've been able to accomplish that."
Amer Delic won the singles championship, and Brian Wilson and Rajeev Ram won the doubles title Monday. Those victories, combined with the team title it won last week, culminate Illinois' first undefeated season since 1946, when the Illini went 10-0.
Illinois also became the first team other than Georgia, Stanford, USC or UCLA to win the NCAA championship since the dual-match format to determine the team champion was adopted in 1977.
"Winning the triple crown the way we did obviously will bring national attention," Wilson said. "It puts us down in history."
Athletic director Ron Guenther said the program's transformation began with a decision to provide more support to the struggling program.
"Our belief was that if we're going to have it, we were going to fully fund it and compete for the Big Ten and national title," he said.
Tiley, 217-71 as a college coach, wants his players to improve every day.
If a player is weak at returning forehand serves, he might spend extra time working on that area. Ram said the players grasp the concept easily. It worked for him -- he joined the team as a freshman this spring and went 22-3 in singles.
"He's focused on really getting better. To take guys who are No. 50 or 60 in the country and turn them into top 20 collegiate players is not easy, and he was able to do that on numerous occasions, not just one or two," Ram said.
Tiley, who also was captain of the South African Davis Cup team from 1999-2001, said he works at developing players.
"The players know that the information we give them is based on sound scientific principles. We look at ourselves as an academy of training. We just happen to be using the college environment as a catalyst to provide that," he said.
The players are adept at absorbing those principles. The team has had the top combined grade-point average of any men's athletic team at the school four of the last six years.
Illinois returns all but one player next season and is expanding its outdoor tennis facilities, adding 12 courts and a stadium with seating for 3,000 people. Guenther said the school plans to put in a bid to host the NCAA championships in 2005 or 2006.
"The next challenge is before us and that's to defend the title," Guenther said.
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