Marek Blaskovic and Ben Cappuccitti set the tone in the No. 3 doubles position for the Illinois State mens tennis team (12-8, 6-1 Valley) Friday afternoon at the McCormick Courts in Normal, Ill., as they rallied back from a 1-5 deficit to beat Evansvilles (6-10. 1-4) Derek Boland and Dustin Wessel 8-5. The win propelled the Redbirds to a 6-1 victory over Evansville.
The Birds also faired well in the other doubles contests. Jason Smit and Ciaran Foley brought their spring doubles record to 12-1 with a win over Levan Datashvili and Derrik Kincheloe, 8-0. The duo of Djordje Uskokovic and Ben Pettinari also picked up a victory in the No. 1 position over David Crouzet and Clemens Klein, 8-4.
The Birds made quick work of Evansville in the singles competition as well, winning five out of six singles matches and not dropping a set in any of the wins. Pettinari highlighted the singles competition for the Birds in the No. 5 spot, winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0 over Kincheloe.
Head Coach Greg Kennett was pleased with his teams performance and expects the team to continue to perform at a high level during the last two weeks of the season.
We did not come out as sharp as I would have liked, Kennet expressed. We got it going after awhile and really started to play well as the afternoon went on.
The Birds last regular season home match is set for tomorrow against Southern Illinois, at 11 a.m., at the McCormick Courts in Normal, Ill.
Illinois State 6 Evansville 1
Doubles
1. Pettinari/ Uskokovic (ISU) def. Crouzet/ Klein (Evansville) 8-4
2. Smit/ Foley (ISU) def. Datashvili/ Kincheloe (Evansville) 8-0
3. Blaskovic/ Cappuccitt (ISU) def. Boland/ Wessel (Evansville) 8-5
Singles
1. Klein (Evansville) def. Cappuccitt (ISU) 7-6, 6-1
2. Smit (ISU) def. Boland (Evansville) 6-4, 6-0
3. Uskokovic (ISU) def. Datashvili (Evansville) 6-2, 6-2
4. Blaskovic (ISU) def. Crouzet (Evansville) 6-1, 6-0
5. Pettinari (ISU) def. Kincheloe (Evansville) 6-0, 6-0
6. Foley (ISU) def. Lannan (Evansville) 6-1, 6-1
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