Jan. 9, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's tennis duo of senior Luka Marinkovic and junior Daniel Tobar will enter the spring 2008 season as the No. 47 doubles pair in the ITA national rankings. The tandem posted a 4-2 record this past fall season and a 9-0 record during the spring 2007 campaign.
"It's exciting for the program to get a doubles team in the national rankings," said head coach Cris James. "It is nice to see the guys get some recognition and it should give them some confidence going into the season"
Marinkovic and Tobar's signature win was an 8-6 besting of Dalibor Povic and Maor Zirkin, of Drake, en route to capturing the Flight 1 title at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships on Sept. 30, 2007.
"The goal for these guys is to qualify for the NCAA tournament and being ranked obviously helps," said James. "It's easier to stay in the rankings than it is to break into them sometimes, so this ranking should help Luka and Daniel reach the tournament if they continue to win."
The duo will lead the Redbirds to Wichita, Kan. as they open their spring season, on Jan. 18, by competing in the Shocker Invitational. The tournament was originally scheduled to be hosted by Arkansas but due to facility issues had to be moved.
