Junior Alban Renard scored the only point Sunday for the Illinois State mens tennis team as it fell to Western Michigan 6-1, at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington. This was the fourth consecutive loss to the Broncos.
Renard beat tough Jeff French at the No. 6 singles position, (6-7, 6-2, 10-5) for his sixth win of the spring season. He also teamed up with Sophomore Tim Link at the No. 3 doubles spot to win the only doubles match for the Birds. They beat the team of French and Bryan Norville, 8-5.
Despite the team loss, head coach Greg Kennett was pleased that Renard played so well.
Alban is a tough player, Kennett said. He does a great job mentally of staying positive, I expect that out of him.
In other singles matches, Djordje Uskokovic lost for the second consecutive match at the No. 1 position, falling to Tommy Dennis, (7-6, 4-6, 10-6). At the No. 2 spot, senior Guillermo Gomez lost to Jose Orozco, (6-2, 6-1).
Kennett feels that the two people who should be leading this team are not.
Djordje and Guillermo both should be stepping up to lead this team, said Kennett. They try to but they are not doing it enough. We have talked to them about it but it still isnt working.
To complete the doubles action, Uskokovic and Ben Pettinari lost for the first time this spring as a duo, falling to the team of Dennis and Brady Crosby, 8-3. At the No. 2 spot Gomez teamed up with Freshman Luka Marinkovic, but lost to Tim Bradshaw and Orozco, 8-5.
The Birds will be back in action on Friday, March 4, when they travel to Marquette for a 4:00 p.m. match.
