The Illinois State mens tennis team will travel to Little Rock, Ark., this weekend where sophomore sensation Alfredo Lagarda will look for his seventh and eighth consecutive singles wins.
The Birds will battle Texas-Arlington on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., and on Sunday they will face Arkansas-Little Rock at 8:00 a.m. Both matches will be played at the Little Rock Racquet Club. This will be the first meeting between the Redbirds and the UTA Mavericks. The last time the Birds faced the Trojans of Little Rock was in 1979, a 6-3 loss.
With two wins this weekend, Lagarda has an opportunity to match his longest winning streak as a Redbird at eight. Head coach Greg Kennett knows the importance of keeping the streak alive.
It is very important for Alfredo to keep on a roll, Kennett said. He shows the rest of the team that we can win at any position. He brings a fighting attitude to the team.
Junior Djordje Uskokovic, who retired from his last match in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships due to a sprained ankle, is ready to return to action.
Djordje is ready to play, Kennett said. He is not quite 100 percent, but he is pretty close. He has had a good couple of practices, but he is still favoring it at times.
At the Valley individual championships the Redbirds didnt advance any doubles teams to the title matches, and Kennett realizes that the Birds will have to play better in doubles action if they expect to win this weekend.
It is very important to come out and win the doubles point, Kennett said. If you win the doubles point you only need three singles points instead of four to win the match. ISU has always had strong doubles play and we have to get better.
