Oct. 16, 2000

MACOMB, IL - The tennis season is a long, gradual process that begins in late September and ends in late April. With that in mind, the UIC men's tennis team took a giant step forward as Nick Bodmer and Jon Schmidt captured the championship at the Western Illinois Doubles Invitational on Saturday.

"This weekend showed that we can do O.K. in doubles competition," UIC head coach Chuck Cunningham said. "We have some doubles potential, so I feel pretty good about this weekend's dual against Bradley.

Bodmer and Schmidt earned victories in the Purple Flight over Western Illinois' Shaun Romisher and Matt Carroll (6-2, 6-4), Bradley's Mike Walz and Alex White (6-3, 3-6, 6-1) and Truman State's Justin Menolascino and Nathan Artz (6-1, 6-7, 6-2). That helped propel the duo into the championship victory over Bradley's Bret Martin and Chris May.

The Flames' No. 3 doubles team of Omar Husain and Derek Hung was the only other tandem for UIC that won two matches in the tournament. Husain and Hung defeated Bradley's Jamin Klotz and Mark Lakin (7-5, 6-3). They then faced off with their teammates Aaron Apilado and Neil Ahluwalia for the 11th place match with Husain and Hung coming out on top 6-1, 6-3.

UIC's No. 2 doubles team of Wade Clark and Amol Desai fell in the fifth-place match to Western Illinois' Brad Anderson and Matt Kinst (6-1, 6-3). Clark and Desai earned a three-set victory over George Kidera and Ben Smith (6-4, 3-6, 6-4).

"We are still learning and will continue to grow as the season moves along," Cunningham said.