The Illinois State womens tennis team extended its winning streak to eight matches, improving to 16-5 and 7-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 6-1 victory at Southern Illinois Saturday afternoon.
The Redbirds jumped to a 1-0 lead after earning the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Alesia Mikalayeva and Liina Suurvarik defeated Erika Ochoa and Ana Serrot 8-3 in the No. 1 spot while Brigette Zarazee and Shelby Lipson moved to 19-1 on the year with the win at No. 3 over Sarah Krismantis and Keri Crandall, 9-7.
It was windy and we were a little nervous in the beginning, head coach Chris Hoover said. Thats still good for us in terms of preparing ourselves for the conference tournament.
The consistency at the top of the Redbird lineup continued as Mikalayeva, Suurvarik and Zana Friganovic all picked up wins in the 1-3 spots. Mikalayeva beat Ochoa, 6-2, 6-2 at No.1 while Suurvarik made quick work of Alejandra Blanco at No. 2, 6-1, 6-3. At No. 3, Friganovic won her eighth straight with a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Serrot.
At No. 5, sophomore Shelby Lipson beat Krismantis 6-3, 6-2. Rachel Moroles edged Zarazee in the first set at No. 6, 5-7, but Zarazee dominated the second set, 6-0, and won the tie-breaker, 10-5, for her 25th win of the season.
We rocked in singles, Hoover added. Everyone played well. We were solid and did what we needed to do to win.
Next weekend the Birds, ranked No. 74 by the ITA, face No. 56 Southwest Missouri State at Springfield, Mo. and travel to Wichita State to wrap up the regular season.
Illinois State 6 Southern Illinois 1
April 14, 2001 Carbondale, Ill.
Singles
1. Alesia Mikalayeva (ISU) def. Erika Ochoa (SIU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Liina Suurvarik (ISU) def. Alejandra Blanco (SIU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Zana Friganovic (ISU) def. Ana Serrot (SIU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Tana Trapani (SIU) def. Elizabeth Bingier (ISU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Shelby Lipson (ISU) def. Sarah Krismantis (SIU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Brigette Zarazee (ISU) def. Rachel Moroles (SIU) 5-7 6-0, 10-5
Doubles
1. Mikalayeva/Suurvarik (ISU) def. Ochoa/Serrot (SIU) 8-3
2. Blanco/Trapani (SIU) def. Friganovic/Alana Hoffman (ISU) 8-4
3. Lipson/Zarazee (ISU) def. Krismantis/Keri Crandall (SIU) 8-0
