Jan. 31, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State men's tennis will escape the cold of the Midwest for the weekend and travel to Texas to take on Texas-Arlington (0-1) on Friday, Feb. 1, and No. 47 SMU (0-1) on Saturday, Feb. 2. The Redbirds (1-0) will be looking to maintain the success they achieved last weekend in defeating Illinois-Chicago, 5-2.
Illinois State will take on Texas-Arlington in Waco at the UTA Tennis Center. The Mavericks are coming off a 7-0 loss to No. 4 Baylor in their season opener. The two teams last faced Feb. 2, 2007, with Illinois State claiming a 4-3 victory. Current Redbirds sophomore Xavier Riart-Ferrer and junior Nuno Jacinto picked up singles victories in the match.
The Redbirds then travel to Dallas to face SMU at the Bent Tree Country Club. The Mustangs are looking to bounce back after a 5-2 defeat to No. 7 Texas on Jan. 26. SMU is led in singles by David Kuczer, who is ranked No. 81 in the nation. The last time the two schools faced, on Feb. 3, 2007, SMU took a 5-2 decision. Senior Oscar Beich was the only current Redbird to claim a singles match.
The Redbirds No. 47 doubles tandem of senior Luka Marinkovic and junior Daniel Tobar will be looking to continue their strong play in dual matches. The duo defeated Adriano Liccardo and Bastian Harbo (UIC) last weekend, and went 9-0 last spring in dual matches.
In singles, Marinkovic is looking to break into the winning column for the first time in 2008. With his first win of 2008, Marinkovic will move into a tie for eighth in career singles wins at Illinois State with 63.
