Only two regular season matches remain for the Illinois State mens tennis team (8-10, 4-2 MVC), but the weekend slate will not be taken lightly by the Redbirds, as they will be positioning themselves for a higher seed for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
The Birds are currently in fourth place in the Valley, sandwiched between this weekends opponents, Wichita State (third place) and Southwest Missouri State (fifth place).
The questionalbe availability of Alfredo Lagarda, due to an arm injury suffered in practice Wednesday, will make the prospects for the weekend even more challenging for head coach Greg Kennetts squad. Lagarda has been one of the Birds most successful players this year, winning eight of his last nine matches, with a 14-9 singles record.
Kennett expressed his concern for his teams inability to avoid the injury bug this season.
Nobodys healthy on our team right now, Kennett said. It seems like everytime we get one guy healthy we have another injury that we have to deal with.
Despite the injuries Kennett still feels that his team is deep enough to sweep the weekend and take third place overall in the Valley.
We have some guys that are playing well right now and that is very encouraging for us, Kennett said. We control our own destiny in the Valley this weekend.
The Birds will face off against SMS Friday, at 3 p.m., in Springfield Mo. ISU will then finish their regular season against Wichita State, at 3 p.m.
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