Jan. 28, 2006
Results
Chicago, Ill. - The Windy City was tough on Illinois State as they endured a 5-2 defeat against 1-1 DePaul in their Friday match up. Carolyne Parent and Nicole Schneider stood out on the courts as the only two Redbirds to walk away with victories in singles and doubles. The team took four losses in singles and two in the double matches.
Head coach Chris Hoover believes if the team improves on competitiveness, results will be better in upcoming matches.
"We just have to get more competitive on the courts," said Hoover. "We also need to work on how to produce under pressure because that is the key to winning tough matches like these."
Coming into DePaul, the Redbirds knew they faced a difficult lineup. They put up a fight, but it was not enough to withstand the performance of the Blue Demons.
"I thought we played hard, but we were just outgunned in number one, two and three singles," said Hoover. "They were just better than us."
While number one through three singles matches resulted in losses, the`Birds enjoyed success at positions four and five. Parent won her singles match at the number four position and winnings were earned by Schneider at the number five singles. Parent and Schneider's momentum only increased as they paired to win number three doubles title. Hoover was pleased with the pair's performance.
"Basically, we had two players who were successful; Nicole Schneider and Carolyne Parent," said Hoover. "Nicole is playing better tennis right now than she was in the fall and I think Carolyne played well enough to win in her match."
The Redbirds know that they need to work on their doubles and some other troublesome spots in order to succeed in the conference season and for the next match against Illinois.
"We are going to work at our doubles and our competitiveness in all the positions," said Hoover. "It's a long season and we have a lot of work to do."
The Redbirds will continue to work hard and prepare for future duals like the one coming up Saturday, Feb. 4, against Illinois at 11 a.m.
