March 8, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State has enjoyed success in its last two matches with dominating performances against Butler and IUPUI; and after a couple weeks off the Redbirds hope to prolong their winning streak as they face No. 49 Western Michigan this Saturday in South Bend, Ind.
The Broncos head into this weekend's play with a seven-match winning streak and an 8-2 overall record. While other teams may be hesitant to go up against such a team, Illinois State is anxious to get back on the courts to face the Western Michigan competition.
"After these weeks off, we are excited to start playing again," said ISU head coach Chris Hoover. "We are excited to play against Western Michigan because they are tough and competitive and we are looking forward to being aggressive in the matches."
Hoover compares the Bronco's play to that of the Fighting Illini, who was ranked No. 48 when the Redbirds played them earlier in the season. Hoover believes that if the team fights and plays as hard as it did against Illinois, it will walk away with victories. This match will also enable the `Birds to see where they stand as a team.
"If we are able to do what we did against Illinois it will show we are at the level we need to be at," said Hoover. "Also, I know we will win matches against Western Michigan if we are tough like we were with Illinois."
Hoover and the team have used their time off to work on some basic skills before jumping back into the spring season.
"We practiced a little bit of everything," said Hoover. "We worked on a lot of basics, a lot of attack oriented drills, and our doubles and have been raring to go back to compete."
The Redbirds will play the Broncos at 11a.m. on Saturday in South Bend, Ind. due to Western Michigan's prior match on Friday against Notre Dame.
