March 4, 2007
Final Stats
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -
Despite taking a 3-1 advantage in the match, the Illinois State women's tennis team suffered its first home loss of the season as DePaul rallied to beat ISU, 4-3, Sunday at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill. With the match tied at 3-3, junior Carolyne Parent fell to Anja Mihaldinec in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, to give the Blue Demons the come-from-behind victory.
The loss drops ISU's record to 4-3, while DePaul improves to 7-6, 2-0 in the BIG EAST Conference.
"This was a very tough match," head coach Chris Hoover said. "It's disappointing that we were unable to take advantage of winning the doubles point and gaining another point from a player withdrawing due to injury.
"You have to give all the credit to DePaul. They fought for the entire match and showed that they have big hearts."
The Redbirds jumped out on top early, 1-0, by claiming the doubles point as they have in their previous four victories. At the No. 3 position, the team of sophomore Tanja Hrovatic and senior Matea Simovic blanked DePaul's Clare Chmiel and Bojana Murisic, 8-0, while the No. 1 duo of senior Katri Miller and junior Véronique Parke-Bédard clinched the point by beating Dunja Antunovic and Mihaldinec, 8-6. The victory improved the Redbird duo's dual-match record to 6-1 on the season.
The Blue Demons quickly tied the match at 1-1, when Antunovic swept Miller in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, at the top spot in the lineup. The victory was the 14th in the last 15 contests for the Blue Demon sophomore.
ISU would increase its advantage to 3-1 when Parke-Bédard and Simovic won back-to-back matches. Parke-Bédard won in a walkover at the No. 2 spot when DePaul's Petra Rehusova withdrew due to an injury, while Simovic rolled past Chmiel in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1, at the No. 6 position.
From that point on, the Blue Demons regrouped to win the final three matches. Murisic started the rally by upending Hrovatic at the No. 4 spot in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. DePaul forced the decisive match when Kirsten Gambrell bested ISU freshman Julia Zubkova in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
The comeback was complete when Mihaldinec outlasted Parent in three sets at the No. 5 spot. The loss was only the second for the St.-Jean Sur Richelieuu, Québec, native during dual-match play.
Illinois State returns to action on Wed., Mar., 7, when it travels to face Illinois. The match between the `Birds and the Fighting Illini is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. in Champaign, Ill.
