April 23, 2006
Final Stats
CARBONDALE, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's tennis team (15-6, 7-0) won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season this afternoon. The `Birds clinched the title in a 7-0 win over Southern Illinois (11-7-1, 2-5).
Illinois State won the regular conference season for the first time under head coach Greg Kennett's program.
"It's terrific and it feels great," said Kennett about being the regular season champions. "We had a phenomenal year and it is a fantastic feeling. The guys are excited and they still believe they have more to do."
In doubles, Alban Renard and Oscar Beich returned to the win column at the No. 1 position after defeating Andrei Bubnov and Bojan Ilievski of SIU, 8-5. At the No. 3 spot, Luka Marinkovic and teammate Daniel Tobar kept their win streak of 14 alive after dropping the Saluki's Tomas Gonzalez and Rodrigo Lama in an 8-6 battle.
Yohann Nograbat outlasted SIU's Lama at the No. 1 singles position in a 6-4, 6-4 match, while Djordje Uskokovic defeated Gonzalez at the No. 4 singles position 6-4, 6-4, which is his twelfth consecutive win. Luka Marinkovic downed Bubnov at the No. 5 singles slot in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6, for his tenth straight win. Alban Renard, Nuno Jacinto and Alfredo Lagarda also added wins from the No. 2, three and six positions, respectively.
With the MVC tournament around the corner, Illinois State is still looking to advance even further. If the `Birds win the tournament they will qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships.
One of the goals the team set earlier in the season was to reach the NCAA Regional Championships and Kennett believes the goal is obtainable.
"One of our goals is to qualify for the NCAA tournament," said Kennett. "First we have to see what we can get done in the tournament next week, but we believe we have a strong chance in meeting our goal."
The men's tennis squad will return to the court on Friday, April 28 in the MVC tournament hosted by Drake.
