Oct. 21, 2005
TULSA, Okla. -
Head coach Greg Kennett was satisfied with his teams efforts in the NCAA Region V Championships, hosted by Tulsa. Alban Renard, Djordje Uskokovic, Yohann Nograbat and Luka Marinkovic competed in the first day of the main draw on Friday October 21. Even with an early ending to the road trip, the Illinois State men's tennis team has a lot to be proud of.
Nograbat, Renard and Uskokovic competed in the singles main draw. Uskokovic battled through the qualifier on Thursday to compete in the main draw and won his first singles round today in straight sets 7-6, 6-3. Unfortunately, he did not prevail in the second round. Kennett was content with Uskokovic's attempt.
"He did a nice job. He played the seventh seed from Tulsa," said Kennett. "It was too bad he couldn't keep up and win more points."
Renard defeated Tommy Garrison, ranked 125 in the nation, during his first round. He defeated Garrison in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. Coach Kennett was excited to see a big win for the Redbirds.
"He made some really great shots in the first match and played terrific," said Kennett. "I think Alban may have lost his focus in the second round and he just couldn't hold on."
Marinkovic and Renard paired together to represent the Redbird squad in the doubles main draw. The doubles tournament began at 3p.m. after the singles main draw concluded. The two could not find a connection during their first match and dropped the first round in a 6-8 loss. Kennett wanted to see more out of the two in the tournament.
"They never got going. Luka sat for a long period of time before the match," said Kennett. "It was a little disappointing to finish a day like that."
The men's tennis team concludes its fall season and will begin competing again in January. Kennett was happy with his team and their accomplishments for the fall season. The `Birds took home three individual titles at Ball State and one team title from Milwaukee. Kennett would like to see his team produce the same efforts this spring.
"We are headed in the right direction," said Kennett. "Since the fall season is over, we are going to start with a couple of weeks off. Then we will work on our footwork and train in the weight room to prepare for the spring."
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