By: Dave Wischnowsky

By: Dave Wischnowsky

By: Dave Wischnowsky

By: Dave Wischnowsky

CHAMPAIGN – When Illinois and Northwestern clashed in Evanston last year, the Illini were greeted by a slew of rowdy fraternity tailgaters.

No big deal if the schools were playing football at Northwestern's Ryan Field.

But they weren't. These Illini and Wildcats met in a bubble, and they were playing ... tennis.

Not exactly your basic beer and brats sport, but that didn't stop Northwestern fans.

"They had, like, 50 drunk frat guys there. Some even had 'Northwestern' painted on their chests," said Oliver Freelove, a junior member of the UI tennis team. "There were only about 50 to 70 people there total, but it seemed like a lot more. It was an electric atmosphere."

UI coach Craig Tiley said the rowdy crowd played a big part in his team's 4-3 loss that day. This year, the Illini want to turn the tables.

Tiley & Co. are throwing their own bash at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Atkins Tennis Center when 15th-ranked Illinois hosts 23rd-ranked Northwestern in its first dual meet of the season.

They're calling the festivities "Grill the Cats," and it's free and open to the public.

"We're going to have a fraternity and sorority contest, to see who can have the most people come out," said Tiley, who will be giving away tennis rackets and a hosting a free cookout for the Greek house with the biggest turnout.

"We're also trying hard to get the Orange Krush and the band out there, too. We want to make it as noisy as we can for Northwestern."

The Illini have plenty of reason to. After last season's party in Evanston, Illinois and Northwestern exchanged volleys twice more.

First at the Big Ten Championships, where the Illini won 4-2 to capture their first conference team crown in 51 years.

And then at the NCAA Regional in Champaign, where the Wildcats prevailed 4-0 to keep Illinois out of the NCAA Championships.

"It's a big, heated rivalry," Tiley said. "The team that wins between Illinois and Northwestern will win the Big Ten."

The Illini are 26-2 at home the last two seasons.

"We want to get the season off to a good start," Freelove said. "And, hopefully, people will come out and see (tennis) is pretty good fun. That's a good goal, too."

"There's going to be a lot of excitement," Tiley said. "We've got some intense players, and let's just say there could be some interesting incidences."