Illinois State suffered its first conference loss since 2002 Saturday afternoon at the hands of Valley foe Indiana State. The Sycamores claimed the victory with a 6-1 decision in the Redbirds first outdoor match of the season at the McCormick Courts.
Laura Gravino recorded the only Redbird point in the match, as she defeated Marie Caujolle 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 3 singles position. Matea Simovic and Emilie Sechaud paired to claim an 8-4 victory in the No. 3 doubles spot over Magda Narczewska and Imane Lahlou. The Birds failed to win the doubles point, however, as the Nos. 1 and 2 teams lost their matches to the tough Sycamore opposition. Head coach Chris Hoover was disappointed with the play of his Redbird team, but hopeful the loss will serve as future motivation.
We didnt have any fight in us today, said Hoover. We have seasoned players on this team and Im surprised we werent more prepared for this match. To be honest Im pretty disappointed in the way we played today, it wasnt that Indiana State was that much better, its that we didnt want to win bad enough.
We do have some freshman in our line-up, but we also have four upper-classman that are supposed to act as leaders, Hoover continued. That didnt happen today, they didnt come to play today. If this loss does anything besides serve as an example of how not to play, and how not to prepare, I hope it can at least be a motivation to play better in the future.
The Redbirds return to the court with back-to-back-to-back home matches on April 8, 9, and 10 at the McCormick Courts. During the three-match stretch the Birds will face Valley foes Northern Iowa, Creighton and Drake.
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