The Illinois State womens tennis team begins the spring portion of their season when they take on Eastern Illinois on Friday at 7 p.m., at Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill.
Womens tennis head coach Chris Hoover is impressed with how the team looks after being on Christmas Break for over a month.
I am very pleased with how they look in practice after being gone so long, said Hoover. I am very excited to get started.
Eastern Illinois, who is also beginning their spring season on Friday, finished the 2002-2003 season 13-7 overall and 5-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Hoover is looking at Eastern to put up a fight on Friday.
I think that we are the big fish to them and they want to knock us off, said Hoover. That makes them a very dangerous team.
Last year the Redbirds were the Missouri Valley Conference regular season champions with a 9-0 record. The team headed to the Valley tournament as the No. 1 seed and won the championship, earning them a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Birds fell in the first round to No. 1 seed Virginia Commonwealth, but gained valuable experience by playing in the NCAA tournament.
This fall, Illinois State had another successful run. Senior Liina Suurvarik set an Illinois State tennis record in career singles wins with 101. She also set another Illinois State tennis record in career doubles victories, when she teamed up with Katri Miller to win her 96th career doubles match.
The Redbirds will next take on the University of Illinois at 2 p,m., at the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Ill.
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