[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 10768-10769]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHAMPAIGN-URBANA MEN'S TENNIS TEAM 
                              CHAMPIONSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. TIMOTHY V. JOHNSON

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 7, 2003

  Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the hard work, talent, and dedication of the University of Illinois at 
Champaign-Urbana Men's Tennis Team. Recently, the team won the 
Intercollegiate Tennis

[[Page 10769]]

Association Men's Indoor Championship, a victory which demonstrated the 
team's tenacity and willingness to continue to strive for new feats of 
excellence, as well as why they are such a source of pride to their 
school and the Champaign-Urbana community.
  The University of Illinois Tennis Team was the first team to win this 
tournament since 1983 that was not from the State of California, and, 
in addition, was the first Mid-Western team to come in first in the 31-
year history of the competition.
  True leadership is needed to allow any team to reach its full 
potential. Such leadership is exemplified by the work of Coach Craig 
Tiley and University of Illinois Athletic Director Ron Guenther. Their 
determination and vision have made the U of I Tennis Team a force to be 
reckoned with on the national level. Credit must also go to the student 
athletes themselves, who put forth and incredible amount of effort and 
sacrifice to meet the high standards set by their coaching staff.
  Athletics often demonstrates how intelligence, physical ability, 
leadership, and teamwork allow men and women to overcome great odds. 
The victory of the University of Illinois Men's Tennis Team at the ITA 
Championship is a terrific example of these attributes and I would like 
to extend to them my most sincere congratulations.

                          ____________________