April 22, 2007
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State women's tennis team concluded its regular-season slate of matches with a 4-2 victory over Drake on Sunday at the McCormick Courts in Normal, Ill. The victory marked the first this season for the Redbirds when the team lost the doubles point to begin the match.
Trailing 1-0, the `Birds went on an impressive run in singles competition by winning four straight positions to clinch the victory.
The Redbirds finish the regular season with a 12-8 record overall and a 6-2 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The loss dropped Drake's overall record to 9-13, 4-4 in the MVC.
"It always feels good to end the season on a high note heading into the conference tournament," head coach Chris Hoover said. "I'm really happy for our seniors (Katri Miller and Matea Simovic). The duo made huge contributions in our victory over Drake."
The momentum seemed to be entirely in favor of Drake early on after the Bulldogs swept all three doubles positions to take the 1-0 lead. At the top spot in the lineup, Veronika Leszayova and Alison Wilkie bested Miller and junior Véronique Parke-Bédard, 8-7, 7-5 in the tiebreaker. Kari Sloboth and Sarah Plowman defeated freshman Julia Zubkova and sophomore Megan Rozboril, 8-6 at the No. 3 spot, while Eve Rusdianto and Irina Kalashnikova clinched the match at No. 2 with an 8-3 win over junior Carolyne Parent and Simovic.
Determined to finish the season with a win, the Redbirds came out in singles action and played some of their best tennis.
Simovic gained ISU's first point when she made quick work of Daria Zawislak by winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4.
Parent helped the `Birds take the lead for good when she won her team-leading 21st victory of the season by upending Wilkie, 6-2, 6-2. Parent finished the regular season winning 18 of her last 22 matches.
Miller registered the team's third point when she snapped her personal three-matching losing skid with a win at the top spot in the lineup. Miller claimed the first set over Leszayova, 6-1, before dropping the second 4-6. The Tallinn, Estonia, native kept her composure and won the final set, 6-2.
The deciding point for the Redbirds came via Parke-Bédard, who captured her 19th win of the season. The 6-2, 6-4 victory over Kalashnikova was the ninth in the last 10 contests for the native of Pont-Rouge, Québec.
ISU now turns its attention to the 2007 State Farm MVC Championship in Omaha, Neb. The event will be hosted by Creighton and run from Fri., April 27-Sun., April 29.
