CHAMPAIGN — Cary Franklin was playing a tennis match in Atlanta about a month ago.
What the former Illinois standout didn’t know was his 17-year-old opponent was apparently one of the top recruits in the country.
At least until Franklin asked what colleges his opponent was looking at while they hitting around to warm up.
The answer?
Georgia, Illinois and Ohio State.
“I was like, ‘Get the hell out of here. If you really want to go to a premier tennis destination, you’re going to Illinois,’” Franklin said. “I’m still recruiting at almost 44 years old, but it’s easy for me to say because I believe it. … You can’t name five other places in the country that you’d rather play tennis. I wouldn’t send my kid anywhere else.”
Franklin has a 2-year-old son who is still a ways away from making a college choice.
But Franklin was an integral part of Illinois’ emergence as a tennis power in the late 1990s. While the Illini’s streak of 26 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances started the season before Franklin arrived in Champaign, his class won four straight Big Ten titles from 1997 through 2000 and reached the NCAA tournament quarterfinals his junior and senior seasons.
There’s a reason current coach Brad Dancer calls Franklin the “Godfather of Illinois tennis.” He helped build the program into what it remains today, and he is clearly still invested in the Illini’s success.
Success that Illinois is hoping to continue building upon with a 6 p.m. Monday match in the Sweet 16 against No. 1 seed Florida in Orlando. A Big Ten division title, Big Ten tournament championship and another trip to the round of 16 is just the latest for Illinois in 2 1/2 decades as a legitimate national power.
The root of that success? It’s an overwhelming consensus. Craig Tiley.
Becoming a destination
“We’ve got to give all the credit in the world to Craig,” Dancer said. “There’s some great people before Craig and really important people in Illinois tennis history, but Craig is the one that, to be honest, changed college tennis. Not just Illinois tennis.”
“You have to start with Craig Tiley,” former Illini Ryler DeHeart added. “He got the ball rolling on the whole thing. He came when they were the worst team in the Big Ten and then took us to Big Ten titles and the eventual national championship in 2003.”
“I think it started out, obviously, with Craig Tiley in the ‘90s,” fellow former Illini Abe Souza continued. “He had a pretty remarkable vision.”
That vision was a 10-year plan for Illinois tennis. A plan Tiley absolutely delivered on, going from 13-15 in his first full season as coach in 1994 (after a disastrous 4-23 mark a year prior in an interim role) to undefeated national champions (with NCAA singles and doubles champs to boot) by 2003.
Tiley credits his assistants coaches for helping build the program. Guys like Fredrik Axsater, Stewart Doyle, Bruce Berque and Dancer. A focus on development and getting Atkins Tennis Center completed were also key elements. So, too, were tough scheduling — playing the best teams and not trying to protect a ranking — and recruiting.
“We focused on recruiting American players who had underachieved in the juniors, but were on the verge of developing into great tennis players,” Tiley said.
Those tennis players on the rise received a different kind of path at Illinois. The fact Tiley revolutionized college tennis and made Champaign-Urbana the epicenter of those changes can’t be discounted as part of the Illini’s success either.
“Back in the day, you either played college tennis or pro tennis,” Dancer said. “Craig was the one that blended those two things together. The nutrition. The strength training. Scheduling. Everything started to become more professionalized in college tennis.”
Illinois became a destination for aspiring pros. DeHeart knew next to nothing about Illinois as a university, but his coach knew Tiley. The professional atmosphere within the Illini program sold the Tampa, Fla., native during his recruiting visit.
Tiley’s pitch wasn’t just about coming to play tennis at Illinois. His plan for every top recruiting target included detailed notebooks about using Illinois as the launching point for a professional tennis career.
“They had a pro training environment there on a college campus,” said DeHeart, who was a freshman on the 2003 national championship team.
Building on success
Illinois won 272 matches, nine consecutive Big Ten titles and reached the Elite Eight five times in Tiley’s 12 seasons as full-time coach. Dancer spent the 2004-05 season on staff as associate head coach before Tiley left to become CEO of the Australian Open and then take on the challenge of revitalizing tennis in Australia altogether.
“Dumbest thing you can ever do,” Dancer said with a laugh. “I went to Fresno State after Peter Smith was one of the coaches there, and that was really stupid. Then I went to Illinois after Craig Tiley. I don’t recommend doing those things. I always tell people if you want a career path to follow, mine’s the opposite. Never follow a legend, and I followed two of the great coaches in college tennis.”
But Illinois’ success has continued in Dancer’s now 16 years at the helm. He’s the program’s all-time winningest coach, with 23 wins so far this season giving him 324 in his career. Monday’s Sweet 16 appearance is the program’s 11th in his time as coach, with a national runner-up finish in 2007 the high point.
“Brad deserves all the credit in the world,” said Souza, who played at Illinois from 2007-11. “When you look at what he’s done taking over from Craig, basically the team couldn’t get any better. You couldn’t accomplish anything else. To maintain that now over 16 years is pretty incredible when you consider the competition in college tennis. He’s won three Big Ten championships now and made the finals of the NCAAs. Just countless, countless Sweet 16s and other great results in tournaments. It really speaks to his determination, his work ethic and the tone he sets.”
Tiley speaks as highly of Dancer as Dancer does of him.
“We were the first cold-weather school to break into the top echelon of national tennis,” Tiley said. “We dominated the Big Ten. It’s very difficult to continue winning year after year. Brad has kept the Illini in the top tier of the Big Tens and on the national stage. This is difficult to do, but Illinois now has a long history of success. Everyone is very proud of Illinois tennis and their ongoing success.”
Ross Guignon points to the relationships Dancer built with former Illini like Franklin as a key part of Illinois’ sustained success. Franklin never played for Dancer. Neither did guys like Amer Delic or Phil Stolt or Brian Wilson, but they remain invested and involved in the program.
“Those guys that were there in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, not only did they revolutionize Illinois tennis, but they revolutionized college tennis,” said Guignon, who played at Illinois from 2012-15. “An insane amount of national championships had been won by four schools. It was Georgia and USC, UCLA and Stanford. Then Illinois won in 2003. Baylor then won and Pepperdine. It just changed college tennis. Brad’s done a really good job of keeping those guys connected to the program even though he wasn’t their coach. I think that all comes full circle to make Illinois a special place.”
Developing a ‘new swag’
Those relationships have allowed the thread of team culture to connect the Tiley era to the current team. It means something more to Franklin having played a rather significant role in developing that culture in the late 1990s that still persists today.
“That passion, that DNA of Illinois tennis that I think is what makes it so special, is the commitment and culture of everyone that’s been there and played there,” Franklin said. “It’s no secret that myself and some others kind of brought a new swag to Illinois, and we won. And we won very unapologetically. It was fun. I do care about all the guys. I do care deeply about Brad and (associate head coach Marcos Asse). It matters to me to stay connected. That’s the culture.
“We recruit people that it matters to. I’m almost 44 years old, and I still check my phone to see how Illinois did in tennis. I check Twitter and get online and follow them on a livestream app. Myself and others, we kind of said, ‘Look, this is what’s expected of you at Illinois. When you come to play tennis here, you’re not going to be a selfish (jerk). You’re joining a culture and family, and it better matter. If it doesn’t, then we don’t want you.’”
Support system in place
The Illinois tennis culture has been bolstered by support both from the university in the form of resources to compete and from the many tennis enthusiasts in the Champaign-Urbana community that show up at Atkins Tennis Center or Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.
Not every college program has those advantages. Franklin, DeHeart, Souza and Guignon said the program’s success doesn’t happen without that combination of support.
Monday night’s showdown with Florida presents another opportunity for this year’s team to add to the legacy of Illinois tennis at large. The Sweet 16 has both become the program’s norm and its stumbling block in the last decade other than a quarterfinals appearance in 2018.
Dancer doesn’t dodge it, either. A Sweet 16 appearance is still a laudable accomplishment for his team, and he’s thrilled for his players. But it’s not the end goal.
“At the same time, if you’re to look at my coaching tombstone or whatever, it’s been our graveyard,” Dancer said. “I don’t know how many years we’ve lost in the Sweet 16. I know it’s a lot. Knowing that, it’s a big challenge for me this week psychologically. I’ve got to get over that hump as well.
“This year will be interesting. We’re seeded (16th), but I don’t think any of our guys feel like that’s where we are. I think most of the guys on our team feel like the season they’ve had we’ve sort of proven we’re a top five or six team.”
A top-five or six-team. Right where Illinois tennis has proved its belonged for going on three decades.
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