CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – Illinois men’s tennis is staying home to open the national tournament.

The Illini are hosting for their first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, with action scheduled to begin on Friday.

The Illinois men’s tennis program is not new to the postseason play, nor having it in Champaign. It will mark the 20th time Illinois serves as a host site, and the 19th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in head coach Brad Dancer’s 21 years leading the team.

For years, it was the norm for Illinois to open postseason play at home, doing so 10 times in Dancer’s first 12 seasons – but that hasn’t been the case since 2021.

“I always told people back then ‘Don’t take it for granted,'” Dancer said. “Now it’s been a number of years since we’ve hosted. I think for a lot of people they feel like for Illinois tennis it’s a birthright to [host.] It’s not. You got to earn it every single year. Happy for this team to earn this opportunity.”

What have his athletes done right to earn this opportunity? They’ve won a lot, for starters. More than that…

“They’ve competed their tails off, you always have to do that,” Dancer said. “We’ve got a great group of guys. They’ve got tremendous competitive spirit.”

Now, Dancer and his athletes are hoping folks in and around Champaign will come out and support them in the postseason at Atkins Tennis Center.

“We are trying to pull every single person in Champaign out here this weekend,” Dancer said, adding that there are plenty of prizes and contests going on to enhance the fan experience.

“Atmosphere is going to be nice,” Illini freshman Gabriel Debru. “It’s loud, everyone’s scream ILL – INI. It’s a great, great environment. So I think for people that don’t even know tennis, I think it’s just a great moment to spend with the kids.”

“We are going to be loud. We are going to be tough on the opponents. We are going to come after them,” Illini freshman Adam Jilly said.

The Illini will go up against Yale on Friday. The winner of that match meets the winner of Notre Dame and Vanderbilt on Saturday. Saturday’s winner will advance to Super-Regionals and be one of 16 teams standing nationally.

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