March 31, 2007
Final Stats
OMAHA, Neb. -
The Illinois State women's tennis team won its third straight match of the week on Saturday when it defeated Creighton, 4-1, at the Bluejays' Hanscom Tennis Center in Omaha, Neb.
The Redbirds, who immediately hit the road to travel back to Normal, Ill., to face No. 66 Indiana State on Sunday, swept all three doubles positions and captured three of four singles contests to improve their overall record to 7-6, 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The loss drops Creighton's Valley record to 0-3 and 4-7 overall.
"We did a good job of getting the victory today even though I think we didn't play one of our better matches," head coach Chris Hoover said. "We have been a rollercoaster team all season. Hopefully tomorrow we can play our best match of the season and get a victory against a very good team."
Like they have in their previous two victories, the Redbirds jumped out to the early 1-0 lead by sweeping all three doubles matches. ISU's No. 1 team of senior Katri Miller and junior Véronique Parke-Bédard recorded their third victory in a row and 13th as a tandem by beating CU's Katie Chiu and Tess Reddin, 8-7. The Redbirds' No. 2 team of sophomore Tanja Hrovatic and freshman Julia Zubkova dispatched Lindsey Erickson and Nicole Thurston, 8-4, while junior Carolyne Parent and senior Matea Simovic completed the sweep by beating Jodi Yanagida and Cassie Yoneshige, 8-4, at the No. 3 spot .
In singles action, the `Birds quickly notched the victory thanks to Zubkova, Hrovatic and Parke-Bédard, who each won their third consecutive match. Zubkova dispatched Reddin, 6-4, 6-4, at the No. 2 spot, while Parke- Bédard recorded a 6-3, 6-1, victory over Thurston at the No. 3 position. The victory was the 13th of the season for Parke- Bédard tying her with Zubkova for second most on the squad.
Hrovatic, a transfer from New Orleans, took home the final victory of day for the `Birds by blanking Yanagida, 6-0, 6-0. The victory was the sixth of the season for Hrovatic and improves her record to 5-2 when playing at the No. 5 spot in the lineup
The Redbirds return home on Sunday for the first time since Mar. 4 when they face the Sycamores at 1 p.m. The match is tentatively schedule to take place at the McCormick Courts in Normal. If rain forces the match indoors, the action will move to the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington.
