Sept. 24, 2002

Macomb, Ill. - The University of Illinois at Chicago men's tennis team wasted little time in showing improvement since last season.

The Flames competed at the Western Illinois Singles Tournament and came away with one first-place finish and three second-place tallies in flight competition. There were no team scores.

The big story of the weekend was senior Nick Bodmer's first win on Friday, as he picked-up his 50th career victory making the Downers Grove, Ill. native the all-time leader in singles wins in UIC history, beating David Fuhrig of Quincy, 8-2.

Bodmer surpassed former UIC great Scott Davies for the top spot.

Bodmer went on to win four more matches, giving him second-place in Flight A with a weekend record of 5-1.

Newcomer James Wonneberg came up big in his first action as a Flame, winning Flight D with a perfect 6-0 mark.

Senior Amol Desai (B) and freshman Pat Zufan (C) grabbed second-place in their respective flights.

Everyone gave a solid effort in the season's first competition, as Ken Howrey (4-2), Yeugen Ryeznik (3-3) and Neil Ahluwalia (3-3) also experienced success.

The Flames will serve it up again this weekend at the Marquette Tournament on Friday and Saturday in Milwaukee.