After winning the Missouri Valley Conference Championship Sunday, the Illinois State womens tennis team will travel to Evanston, Ill., to take on Virginia Commonwealth in the first round in the NCAA Regionals.
The Redbirds come into the NCAA Regionals with a No. 53 seed, while VCU earned a No. 12 seed.
The 2003 Valley Coach of the Year, Chris Hoover, is glad that his team can play close to home.
It will be nice being able to play where fans can travel and cheer us on, Hoover said. We plan on having a big crowd. I am sure the kids from Atkin-Colby and members of the mens tennis team will travel up to cheer for the team.
The Redbirds will have their hands full with nationally-ranked No. 9 VCU, who post a 23-0 record and have defeated 10 nationally-ranked teams this spring. VCU has three nationally-ranked players in No. 40 Marina Escobar-Martinez, No. 41 Barbara Zahnova, and No. 113 Beatriz Cabrera.
Hoover knows the challenge that awaits when the team goes to take on VCU.
VCUs head coach Paul Kostin has done a good job of rebuilding that program, Hoover said. He has recruited more international players and added more depth to make them a very strong team.
The Birds will start regional play at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at the Vandie Christie Tennis Center at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.
-- ## --
