With two matches left in the regular season, the Illinois State womens tennis is looking to add two more wins to its perfect 7-0 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play as it travels to No. 57 Southwest Missouri State and Wichita State.
In Friday afternoons match, the 16-5, 7-0 Redbirds take on the 9-8, 4-2 Southwest Missouri State Bears. The Bears are No. 57 in the ITA poll, despite losses to Drake and Northern Iowa last weekend.
SMS has been without the services of No. 1 player Cassandra Godfrey and No. 4 Laura Miller. Godfrey has been out for the past two weeks with a sore back while Miller has missed the entire spring after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Weve been gearing up for this for weeks and everyones excited to play, head coach Chris Hoover said. Even though theyre banged up now, we still expect them to be one of the top teams come tournament time.
While Hoover anticipates a competitive match against SMS, he is not looking past Wichita State (2-4, 5-11).
Theyve had matches that have surprised me, Hoover said. Theyre one of those teams that has been hanging around the No. 5 spot in the conference and are dangerous. They have some players that are tough.
The Birds and the Shockers face off on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Wichita, Kan.
Were at the point where we cant take anything for granted, Hoover added. Were taking it one match at a time.
