Jerry Turek, Cary Franklin and Gavin Sontag won singles and doubles matches as the Illini won their home opener 6-1 over defending Big Ten Conference champion Michigan on Saturday at Atkins Tennis Center.

A year ago, Michigan beat Illinois 7-0.

Playing at No. 3, Turek clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Arvid Swan. Franklin, ranked 73rd in the country, and Sontag, ranked 38th, each won three-set matches at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Franklin beat David Paradzik 2-6, 7-6, 6-3, and Sontag beat Matt Wright 6-7, 6-0, 7-6.

The Illini, 9-5 overall, 2-1 Big Ten, host Michigan State at 1 p.m. today.

In women's track and field: Illini strut stuff.

Stacy Ann Grant won the 400-meter hurdles and the high jump as Illinois opened its outdoor season on a strong note at the Cowboy Duals in Stillwater, Okla.

The UI won seven individual events and one relay.

Grant was clocked in 1 minute, 3.06 seconds in the 400 hurdles and cleared 5 feet, 9 inches in the high jump.

Benita Kelley won the 100 in 11.27, and Yvonne Harrison won the 100 hurdles in 14.38.

Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year Tisha Ponder won the triple jump, and sophomore Jennifer Pryor won the discus with a throw of 129-4. Pryor was second in the shot put at 36-9 1/2.

The UI's 4x400 relay teams – A and B – finished 1-2, the A team winning in 3:51.18.

"Overall, we had a good team performance," UI coach Gary Winckler said. "We ran girls in events that they don't normally run, and they did well."

In men's track and field: Relay team wins.

Tyrone Jones, Chris Jones, Matt Klima and Dorian Green teamed to win the 4x400 relay Saturday at the Willie Williams Invite in Tucson, Ariz.

The Illini finished in 3:08.26.

Chris Jones finished second in the 400 with a provisional NCAA qualifying mark of 46.22. Also placing second was the UI's 4x100 relay team in 40.20.

On Friday, Green won the 200 in 21.19, and Georgetown-Ridge Farm product Barry Pearman won the 3,000 steeplechase in 9:06.89. Klima ran the sixth-fastest 400 hurdles time in UI history, finishing third in 51.75.