Young, DeHeart, Rowe, and Oudsema Receive Wild Cards

Tennis fans from central Illinois will get to see a piece of American tennis' future as Donald Young (pictured) has received one of four wild cards into the JSM Challenger. Young, currently ranked 112, would have been directly accepted into the draw but decided to compete in Champaign-Urbana after main draw entries had closed. The former No. 1 junior player in the world is looking to improve his ranking at the end of the season in the hope of earning direct entry into the 2008 Australian Open.

Other wild cards have been awarded to Ryler DeHeart, Ryan Rowe, and Jesse Levine. DeHeart, a U of I alum, is currently ranked No. 339 in the world, which is a career high ranking for him. He will look to use the direct entry into the draw to continue his climb up the rankings. Ryler will be joined in the main draw by his former teammate and Illinois Senior, Ryan Rowe. Rowe recently finished as the runner-up at the ITA National Indoors in Columbus, OH. This is the second straight year that Rowe has earned a wild card and will look to build on the experience gained last year to capture a match victory in Champaign.

The final wild card has been awarded to Scott Oudsema. He gained notoriety at the 2005 US Open when Polo used featured him in their advertising campaign centered around the event. Scott has recently been playing solid tennis as evidenced by his play in Louisville where he reached the semifinals.

Qualifying play begins at 10:00 am at the Atkins Tennis Center. Click on the "Order of Play" link above for the day's schedule of play. Results will be updated throughout the day.