Jan. 25, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
The `Birds concluded their fall season with six titles at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championship. Now, it is a new year and the team is starting the spring season with hopes of more success. The `Birds, who are on their way to Chicago, Ill. this Friday to play their first dual match against the DePaul Blue Demons, hope to leave the Windy City with a win.
Head coach Chris Hoover and the team focused on improving basic skills and exposing opponent's weaknesses during the off-season. Hoover knows that only time will tell on whether or not these practices pay off.
"We won't know if we have achieved our goals of improvement until we get to the league and see how we do, and De Paul will be a test for us."
As they prepare to head to DePaul, the Redbirds know it will be a challenging. DePaul is strong in number one, two and three singles and is coming off a close loss to No. 35 ranked Michigan. However, the team looks forward to competing and playing hard and believes it can come out victorious.
"DePaul has strong players for their number one, two and three singles, but we just want everyone to win and play hard," Hoover said. "With that in mind, I know we will have good results."
Illinois State's returning players include seniors Ashley Maxwell, Emilie Sechaud and Nicole Schneider, juniors Katri Miller, Matea Simovic and Michelle Rabinovich, sophomores Véronique Parke-Bédard and Carolyne Parent, and freshman Megan Rozboril. Each of them has been working hard and Hoover is looking forward to see how everyone performs.
"We have Katri back to health with her knee fully recovered," said Hoover. "When you have your No. 1 player back that's a huge help, and I'm anxious to watch Véronique play because she has been doing well and Ashley Maxwell who has been playing great too."
The Redbirds have the same goal they have every season: walk away from the season champions on and off the court.
"We want to get the highest GPA in the department, win the conference regular season for the No. 1 seed and win the MVC championship tournament to go to the NCAA Tournament," said Hoover. "We are going for a four-peat this year."
Illinois State begins their dual match against DePaul at 6 p.m.
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