April 20, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
On a 10-match win streak, the Illinois State men's tennis team will look to remain undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend as the `Birds compete in their last two league matches with a chance to win the regular conference season title.
Illinois State (13-6, 5-0) will begin the road trip at Terre Haute, Ind., (8-10, 2-3) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 22 against Indiana State and then will travel to Carbondale, Ill., on Sunday to compete against Southern Illinois (11-5-1, 2-2) at 1 p.m.
ISU has a good chance of winning the conference regular season according to head coach Greg Kennett.
"The team has put themselves in a great position to win the conference," said Kennett. "They need to make sure they don't overlook anything. One of our goals was to win the conference and that goal is in reach. Our guys need to have the mental attitude to get that done this weekend."
Djordje Uskokovic, the two-time Valley Player of the Week, still holds an undefeated singles record (5-0) in the MVC. He is also in search of his eleventh consecutive singles win. Teammate Luka Marinkovic is also having a stellar singles season, with a nine-match win streak and a flawless 5-0 record in the league.
Collectively, the squad has captured 10 straight doubles match points, which is a key aspect of dual match play. Marinkovic and Daniel Tobar have never recorded a loss as a doubles combination and are in search of their fourteenth victory together this weekend.
During coach Kennett's tenure, the `Birds are 0-6 against the Sycamores and will look to improve on that record Saturday.
According to Kennett, the last two matches will be no cake-walk.
"Both Indiana State and Southern Illinois are good teams," said Kennett. "Both teams have been winning some close matches. We just have to do what we do best and that is winning at the four, five and six positions and winning the doubles point."
Kennett wants his players to stay focused and be mentally solid over the weekend.
"We have been focusing on taking one point and one match at a time," said Kennett. "We aren't going to take anything for granted because we know how fragile this weekend can be. We don't want anything to take us away from staying focused."
