Singles wins and a strong #3 doubles finish give KTC the edge over B4B in a close USTA league match.
URBANA — KTC edged closer to the pinnacle of the USTA Men's 3.5 league standings, clinching a hard-fought 3-2 triumph against B4B at Atkins Tennis Center on Wednesday night. The victory lifts KTC into a tie for first place alongside the Spin Doctors, setting up key matchups in the coming weeks.
Yongjoo Jung set the tone for KTC in singles play, securing his third win of the season with a composed 6-3, 6-4 decision over Lorenzo Vergari at the #1 spot. Jung has shown versatility this year, competing across multiple league levels, including 4.0 and 6.5 Combo action.
Andy Hur followed with a commanding performance at #2 singles, rolling past Robbie Bauer 6-0, 6-3 to give KTC early control. The team sealed its victory at #3 doubles, where Lino Jo and Sung Min Moon turned in a dominant 6-2, 6-1 effort against Tim Ellis and Charles Nerone.
B4B answered back in a pair of tightly contested doubles matches. At #1 doubles, Nitin Bhosale and Joseph Reiter edged Andrew Diep and Kim Junghyun in a comeback, 6-7, 6-3, 1-0. Meanwhile, Steve Mertens and Christopher Stewart secured another point for B4B, rallying past Jaemin Yang and Yoochan Shin 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 in a gritty effort.
Looking ahead, KTC will take on the Smokin’ Aces, who are coming off a 5-0 loss to the Spin Doctors. B4B aims to bounce back against those same Spin Doctors and hand them their first defeat of the season.
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The defending champs made an early-season statement with a 5-0 win over the only the team to hand them a loss in their last 10 matches.
CHAMPAIGN — The Spin Doctors opened their USTA Men’s 3.5 league title defense in dominant fashion Wednesday night, sweeping all five matches against the Smokin’ Aces at Atkins Tennis Center. The defending champs made an early-season statement with a 5-0 win that highlighted their depth and adaptability across both singles and doubles play.
At the top of the singles lineup, Gaston Suardiaz rolled past Pete Hoppin 6-1, 6-2, while Doyeon Kim backed him up with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Jay Rafi at No. 2. Both matches were controlled from the baseline, with the Spin Doctors dictating pace and placement early. The Aces, still adjusting to outdoor conditions, couldn’t match the consistency of their counterparts.
Doubles play offered a mix of momentum shifts and strategic battles. At No. 1, the Aces’ Patrick Hammie and Andy Wilke came out hot, taking the opening set 6-3 for the only set win for their team all night. But the Spin Doctors' Paul Cheung and Ben Lee settled in and stole the match in a deciding tiebreak, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (5). Meanwhile, John Delanois and Christopher Sisson powered past Ryan Lepp and Ryan Grosso 6-1, 6-3. Though Lepp and Grosso began to find their rhythm outdoors in the second set, pairing kept the Aces at arm’s length.
The night closed with Hans Dee and Geoffrey Lin claiming a 6-4, 6-2 win over Dan Maloney and Travis Davis. Aces captain Clark Brooks had hoped the pair’s speed would tilt the match, but the Spin Doctors' adjustments stifled their usual mix of angles and touch.
The Aces face KTC next Wednesday at 7 p.m., while the Spin Doctors take on B4B at 6 p.m. at Atkins Tennis Center.
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There are many factors when it comes to bone loss including age, body weight, diet and physical activity. The key to minimizing bone density loss is the inclusion of weight bearing exercises such as lifting weights.
Photo: Robert Anasch/Unsplash
by Matt Sheehan OSF Healthcare
ROCKFORD - There’s always plenty of discussion when it comes to the benefits of diets.
In one recent study in the JAMA Network Open, researchers found the lower-calorie Mediterranean diet combined with exercise, helped older women lose weight with beneficial effects on bone mass density.
The study was completed in hospitals and medical centers across Spain and included more than 900 women who ranged in age from 55 to 75. Half the group was instructed to eat a Mediterranean diet with no calorie restrictions and were not required to exercise. The other half was encouraged to walk for at least 45 minutes a day for six days a week and do strength exercises three days a week. This group saw significant improvement in stronger bones.
A lack of calcium and vitamin D are also major factors in bone density loss.
There are many factors when it comes to bone loss including age, body weight, diet and physical activity. Nicole O’Neill, a dietitian with OSF HealthCare, says the Mediterranean diet and exercise can prevent bone loss, if weight bearing exercise, such as lifting weights, is part of the program.
“This was not studied specifically for the Mediterranean diet and bone loss,” she explains. “It was something they found incidentally and then studied it closer. It's not that it's wrong, it's just that it's inconclusive.”
Nicole O’Neill, Dietitian
A lack of calcium and vitamin D are also major factors in bone density loss. “The Mediterranean diet overall limits the amount of dairy, so most people get the majority of their calcium and vitamin D from dairy products,” says O’Neill. “So, say you were doing three glasses of milk a day. If you switched to a Mediterranean diet and dropped down to one glass of milk, you could cause bone loss because you're getting less calcium and vitamin D if you're not careful.”
The typical American standard diet includes plenty of processed foods and lacks in fruits and vegetables.
Key Takeaways:
A study found the Mediterranean diet combined with exercise may have some positive effect on bone mass density in older women.
The key is the inclusion of weight bearing exercises such as lifting weights.
The Mediterranean diet is popular because it promotes fruits and vegetables and fewer processed foods.
Always consult with your provider before starting any diet.
The Mediterranean diet is popular because it features simple, plant-based cooking, with each meal featuring fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds and an emphasis on extra-virgin olive oil. The diet is rich in nutrients that help bone health. Vitamin C from fruits and vegetables can help support bone cells and vitamin K found in spinach can help with bone formation.
“I really do like the Mediterranean diet,” O’Neill says. “There are a lot of pros. The cons are it’s a little fussy. You have to push and pull things around, and you have to be careful to fill in the gaps with foods that are appropriate. If you're not used to having that bigger load of fruits and vegetables and whole grains, that's a lot of fiber that maybe your guts are not used to. So, a slow, incremental approach might be the best way to start.”
Regarding any study, O’Neill says it’s important to read and do your research before coming to any conclusions. Don’t rely on information from the Internet, she adds. You’re likely to get misleading information. Instead, talk to your provider or a dietitian who can interpret the numbers found in the study.
“There are really a lot of moving parts,” O’Neill says. “When you start a new diet, we don't want a crash course. We want it to be sustainable. We want it to be long term, and we want it to be something that fits for you and that makes sense.”
U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos, of the Southern District of New York, issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of an order that Education Secretary Linda McMahon issued on Friday, March 28.
by Peter Hancock Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD — A federal judge in New York issued a preliminary order Tuesday blocking the Trump administration from cutting off states’ access to hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds for public schools, including more than $77 million for Illinois.
Capitol News Illinois file photo
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is pictured in a file photo. He was part of a lawsuit securing a temporary injunction to stop the Trump administration from cutting off more than $77 million in education funds to the state.
U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos, of the Southern District of New York, issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of an order that Education Secretary Linda McMahon issued on Friday, March 28. That order reversed earlier decisions to grant the states additional time to spend funds they had been allocated.
The effect of McMahon’s order was to immediately cut off access to funds that states said they had already committed to spend but not yet made the actual expenditures.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a coalition of 17 states in suing the federal government to block McMahon’s order.
“The Trump administration’s shortsighted and illegal decision to attempt to rescind already-appropriated education funding would hurt vulnerable students the most and could wreak havoc on the budgets of school districts throughout Illinois and the nation,” Raoul said in a statement Tuesday.
The lawsuit over pandemic-related education money is one of more than a dozen multistate suits Raoul has joined, in combination with other Democratic state attorneys general, challenging actions Trump has taken since being sworn in for a second term Jan. 20.
In 2020 and 2021, Congress passed several relief and economic stimulus packages totaling trillions of dollars to help individuals, businesses and state and local governments deal with the financial consequences of the pandemic. For schools, that included costs associated with preparing for the safe return to in-person learning, addressing the learning loss students suffered during the extended period of school closures, and addressing some of the unique needs of homeless children that were exacerbated by the pandemic.
According to the complaint, Illinois was awarded just over $5 billion in “education stabilization” funds under the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, which was enacted in March 2021. Of that, $77.2 million remained obligated but not yet spent as of the end of March 2025.
Those funds had been earmarked for such things as teacher mentoring, statewide instructional coaching, new principal mentoring, trauma response initiatives, the creation of social-emotional learning hubs and contracts for technology infrastructure upgrades, according to the complaint.
Under ARPA, those funds were intended to cover expenses incurred through Sept. 30, 2023. Subsequent legislation gave states an additional year, to Sept. 30, 2024, to “obligate” their funds. And under agency regulations, they had another 120 days beyond that to draw down the funds, although they were also given the option of requesting further extensions.
In January 2025, Illinois requested, and later received, permission to extend its deadline for drawing down the remainder of its funds to March 28, 2026. Other states involved in the lawsuit also received extensions.
But on Friday, March 28, 2025, the Department of Education issued a memo rescinding those extensions, effectively cutting off the states’ access to any unspent funds.
“Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion,” McMahon said in a memo to state education agency heads.
The injunction means the Department of Education cannot enforce the order, at least while the case is still being litigated or until the court issues a different order.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Only 28% of low-income students transfer, compared to 44% of higher-income students. And while Black and Latino students make up 44% of community college enrollment in Illinois, they make up just 31% of those who transfer to public universities.
by Peter Hancock Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD — As the cost of higher education continues to rise, many students have turned to local community colleges as a way of holding down the cost of pursuing a degree.
Sometimes referred to as the “2-plus-2” model, the idea is to complete the freshman- and sophomore-level general education requirements at a local community college – where tuition rates may be half to one-third that of a four-year institution – then transfer to a university to finish out a degree.
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Illinois graduates who transferred from a community college take out, on average, 38% more debt than those who start at four-year schools. Transfer students also attempt an average of nine more credits during their college career than those who don’t transfer.
By many measures, Illinois has been a leader in making the transfer process accessible for community college students. A 2020 report from the Illinois Board of Higher Education and Illinois Community College Board noted that Illinois led the nation in bachelor’s degree completion rates among community college transfer students, with nearly 54% completing their degree within six years.
But a new report by a higher education advocacy group says that statistic offers an incomplete picture. While the completion rate may be high for those who succeed in making the transfer to a university, many more community college students never make the transfer, even though that’s their plan when they first enroll.
The report by the Partnership for College Completion says that while 79% of community college students start with the intention of transferring to a university, only 35% of them do.
The success rate is even lower for low-income students and students of color, the report states. Only 28% of low-income students transfer, compared to 44% of higher-income students. And while Black and Latino students make up 44% of community college enrollment in Illinois, they make up just 31% of those who transfer to public universities.
The report also says Illinois graduates who transferred from a community college take out, on average, 38% more debt than those who start at four-year schools. Transfer students also attempt an average of nine more credits during their college career than those who don’t transfer.
“We’re trying to put a bridge between different systems that were not designed to work with each other and aren't honestly designed to work primarily for students,” Mike Abrahamson, associate director of research and policy at PCC and a coauthor of the report, said in an interview. “We’re seeing breakdowns at every part of this pipeline.”
Abrahamson said the 2-plus-2 model works best for the small percentage of students who come into the system knowing what they want to major in and what university they want to transfer to. But for most others, he said, multiple barriers can stand in the way of a student making a seamless transition from community college to a four-year school.
Some universities have prerequisites for their upper-level courses that may not be aligned with the general education core curriculum that a student may have taken in community college.
One of the biggest obstacles, according to the report, is identifying the community college courses for which credits are eligible to be transferred between institutions, a process known as “articulation.”
Illinois has two programs intended to make it easier to transfer credits between schools. The Illinois Articulation Initiative, begun in 1993, sets out a “general education core curriculum” that more than 100 participating institutions have agreed to accept. And the Student Transfer Achievement Reform, or STAR Act, provides that students who graduate from a community college with an associate’s degree can, if they meet other qualifications, automatically be admitted to a public university and enroll as a junior.
But Abrahamson said the process is not as smooth and seamless as it would seem. For example, he said, some universities have prerequisites for their upper-level courses that may not be aligned with the general education core curriculum that a student may have taken in community college.
“We heard from students about, ‘Oh, I took this marketing class, and it didn't transfer for major credit, it transferred for elective credit. I had to take a marketing class, and it was the exact same course and I paid twice for it,’” Abrahamson said.
Another barrier, the report noted, is the direct cost of transferring from one school to another. That can include application fees as well as fees for obtaining copies of transcripts, costs that can multiply if the student applies to multiple four-year institutions.
“In our discussions with students, we found that those could be significant barriers for students,” Abrahamson said. “It's a $30 or $40 application fee, but you multiply that over a couple institutions, and it can be a real barrier for students to apply.”
Recommendations to lawmakers
The report offers several recommendations to make the transfer process easier, some of which are being considered in the General Assembly. Chief among those is to reform the way Illinois funds higher education.
Lawmakers are considering legislation this year to overhaul university funding, one that would distribute new funds using a needs-based formula similar to the Evidence-Based Funding model used in K-12 education. But the Partnership for College Completion report also calls for overhauling community college funding, “to reduce over-reliance on tuition and fee revenue.”
Another proposal under consideration this year is to implement a statewide direct admissions program in which graduating high school seniors and community college students who are eligible to transfer to a university would be automatically admitted to public universities where they are qualified.
The report calls for expanding that program further by coupling it with “guaranteed need-based financial aid.”
“I think almost all of our universities want to serve more transfer students and want to serve their students as best they possibly can,” Abrahamson said. “A lot of this comes down to giving them the resources they need to do that.”
Gov. JB Pritzker has also pushed for a bill allowing community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degree programs in certain high-demand employment fields. But that measure has stalled thus far, with Democratic leaders recently expressing disagreement on the plan at a committee hearing to discuss the funding bill.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
PONTIAC - People everywhere are conquering their cabin fever and are enjoying the great outdoors after a long, bitter winter. But before you head out for that hike, health care experts remind you to take precautions to avoid tick bites. Read more . . .
CHICAGO - An Illinois law professor is weighing in on what she called a "very public and open test of due process" for immigrants being deported from the United States without court hearings. Read more . . .
CHAMPAIGN - In a show of solidarity against President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies, which critics say are harming families and retirement savings, more than a thousand protesters gathered Saturday at West Park near downtown Champaign for the Hands-Off! Mobilization rally. Read more . . .
Photo Galleries
A couple of runners found themselves in the wrong race at this year's Illinois Marathon. Over 60 photos from the race that you should see.
by Matt Sheehan
