Ryler Deheart
| School: |
University of Illinois |
| Year: |
graduated |
| Home Town: |
Tampa, Fla. |
| Home State: |
N/A |
| Home Country: |
United States(USA) |
| High School: |
|
| Height: |
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| Weight: |
|
| Birth Date: |
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| Dominant Hand: |
Right |
| Major: |
|
| Singles Record: |
137-36 |
| Doubles Record: |
104-37 |
AT ILLINOIS:
2004-05
• Won prestigious ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Singles Championship
• Became only the second unseeded player in the last 10 years of the 26-year history of the ITA National Indoor Championships to win the singles title • Captured the ITA Midwest Regional Championships singles title
• Teamed with GD Jones to take the ITA Midwest Doubles Regional Championship
• 18-1 fall record, which is best start under Head Coach Craig Tiley
• 16-3 record in three set matches
• Awarded main draw berth at USTA Challenger in Champaign, IL
• Earned All-America honors by being seeded (7th) in NCAA singles tournament
• Big Ten Player of the Year
• Named to the 22nd ITA Collegiate All-Star Team
• Ranked No. 1 in the ITA rankings, currently ranked at No. 8
• Became the winningest player in Illinois history for a single season (42-10) surpassing the previous mark (40) in the NCAA Singles Tournament (first round)
• Collected three victories over top-10 opponents
• Captured the ITA Midwest Regional Championships singles title
• Ranked in the top-8 all spring
• 17-6 against ranked opponents overall this season
• 12-1 in singles and 8-0 at the No. 1 position against Big Ten competition
2003-04
• Was an All-Big Ten selection in 2004
• Named Big Ten Player of the Week twice (Feb. 13 and March 11)
• Finished the season with a 29-11 (57-18, overall) record in 2004
• Ranked as high as No. 44
• Top victory came against No. 8 Hamid Mirzadeh of Florida
• Carried a 12-match win streak to start the dual-match season
• Played at the No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 spots throughout the season
• Teamed with GD Jones to start out 16-0 in doubles this past spring
• The duo was ranked as high No. 54 in doubles
• Voted the team's Most Improved Player in 2004
• Academic All-Big Ten
2002-03
• Began his collegiate career with a flourish--won his first seven and 10 of his first 11 singles matches, including two over Top-100 players
• Earned honors as the most outstanding player at the season-opening Napa Valley Invitational in September
• Ranked as high as No. 60 in singles
• Reached the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Singles Tournament
• Went undefeated in Big Ten singles play • Split his two singles matches in NCAA Tournament competition
• Started in the No. 6 singles position at the beginning of the dual-match season; was supplanted by Chris Martin, but remained a spot starter for the Illini
PREP/JUNIORS:
• Ranked No. 4 nationally in Boys 18's
• Florida State champion and Player of the Year in 2002
• Ranked among the top five Floridian tennis players in second year of his age group ever since he was 12
• Took third place at National Claycourts in Louisville and placed fifth at the national hardcourt championships at Kalamazoo in 2002
• Won Sportsmanship Award at the 2002 National Hardcourts and received the Bill Talbert Sportsmanship Award at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I.
• Undefeated in high school competition when he was a senior
• State singles champion his sophomore and senior seasons; runner-up as a freshman and as a junior; selected high school player of the year
• Honor student in high school
PERSONAL:
• Born March 1, 1984 in Kaui, Hawaii to Bill and Debbie DeHeart
• Chose Illinois over Harvard, Princeton and Brown, all Ivy League schools
• Favorite athlete is Pete Sampras
• Past summer jobs have included teaching tennis at a summer camp
• Enjoys listening to music and watching movies
