After cruising past No. 6 seed Creighton 4-0 in the quarterfinals and upsetting No. 2 seed Wichita State 4-1 in the semifinals, the Illinois State mens tennis team fell to No. 37 Indiana State 4-0 in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Team Championship in Springfield, Mo. With the win, the Sycamores claim their fourth consecutive Valley Championship.
The Redbirds finish the season with a record of 14-11 in dual match play and 7-2 in the Valley, while the Sycamores head into the NCAA Division I Mens Tennis Championships with a record of 21-9 in dual match play and 8-0 in the Valley.
Leading the way for the Redbirds was senior Ricky Heath. Despite falling 6-3, 6-2 to Stefan Hirn at No. 1 singles, Heath wrapped up his career at Illinois State winning 12 of his last 14 matches (10 in the Valley). In his two year ISU career, Heaths 58 singles victories tie him for 10th on ISUs career singles wins list. In addition, Heaths 51 doubles victories tie him for eighth on ISUs career doubles wins list.
Ricky really did a great job of leading us both on and off the court, said head coach Greg Kennett. He is not only a tremendous athlete, but also a great representative of the university.
It was a great experience for us, said Kennett, who was pleased with his teams performance in its first ever Valley Championship final. Hopefully, we can build on this performance and win this thing next year.
