Senior Liina Suurvarik and the rest of the Illinois State womens tennis team look to end its regular season on a strong note by winning both home matches this weekend against Wichita State and Southwest Missouri State.
The Redbirds remain perfect in the Missouri Valley Conference with a record of 7-0 and are 13-3 overall. Wichita State is 2-4 in the MVC, while Southwest Missouri State is also unbeaten with a record of 6-0 in the MVC.
Head coach Chris Hoover feels that Wichita State and SMS will be difficult matches to play.
I think both teams will give us a run for our money, Hoover said. But we have had a lot of matches to prepare us for this moment. These are two big matches and I want to see if we can break out and win every point.
Several of the Birds are on winning streaks and will look to continue to win this weekend. Suurvarik and Katri Miller have won 14 consecutive doubles matches at the No. 1 position, while the No. 3 duo of Laura Gravino and Ashley Maxwell have won nine consecutive doubles matches.
In singles, Gravino leads the team with the most consecutive wins, at the No 4 position, with 12. Suurvarik has won eight consecutive matches at No. 1 and Emilie Sechaud has also won eight consecutive matches at the No. 5 spot.
ISU will return to McCormick Courts on Friday, April 16 to take on the Shockers at 3:30 p.m. They will go up against the Bears on Saturday, April 17 for their last match of the regular season, at 1.pm.
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