April 27, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State won its first Missouri Valley Conference men's tennis championship with the help of four players who received conference recognition on Thursday. Djordje Uskokovic, Luka Marinkovic and Daniel Tobar earned all-conference honors, while Yohann Nograbat received all-select accolades.
Uskokovic has recorded a 7-0 conference mark and a 20-4 overall record this spring, which helped him to be honored as the No. 4 all-conference honoree his season. Marinkovic also went 7-0 in the Valley and garnered 17 singles wins with only three losses to in earning the No. 6 all-conference spot.
Marinkovic and Tobar were named the No. 3 doubles all-conference duo as the two went 7-0 in conference play and tallied 15 wins throughout the spring season. During singles competition, Nograbat went 5-2 in the league and 11-8 overall, leading to his selection on the All-Select team.
The No. 1 seeded Redbirds begin the first round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament play on Friday at 8 a.m. in Des Moines, Iowa. The single elimination tournament will leave no room for error throughout the weekend. Although, earlier this season the `Birds defeated Creighton at home in a flawless 7-0, match the first round of play cannot be taken lightly.
The No. 1 seed in the tournament has an advantage, according to head coach Greg Kennett.
"The first round will not be as difficult to play," said Kennett. "Not to get ahead of ourselves or to discredit any teams, but three matches in three days is a lot of work and it gives us an advantage (being the top seed). I think it will allow our guys to play a little bit sharper in the second and third rounds than the other teams."
Last season, Illinois State defeated Drake in the first round of the tournament, 4-3, but couldn't hold on as it fell short in the second round against Indiana State, 4-2.
To prepare for this year's tournament Kennett ran some tough practices, but he let the squad have some time off as well.
"We took some time off this week because I want them to stay fresh," said Kennett. "When you take into consideration that we will practice Thursday, compete on Friday and potentially Saturday and Sunday it can take a toll on the guys physically and mentally."
The men's tennis squad, which swept the Valley with a 7-0 record has won 12 consecutive matches.
Kennett says the `Birds need to stay consistent and play the game they know best to win the tournament.
"I think it's going to be tough playing in Des Moines over the weekend because Drake has a home court advantage," said Kennett. "We are going to continue our same strategy, which is winning the doubles point and winning down low. If we keep our course, I think we will be in good shape."
