Oct. 3, 2008
Results
MUNCIE, Ind. -
The Illinois State's men's tennis team advanced five players to the quarterfinals in singles at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center, as the Redbirds dominated day one of the Ball State Invitational in Muncie, Ind., Friday. Illinois State went 10-3 in singles and were undefeated in three doubles matches.
During singles action, sophomore Timon Reichelt remains undefeated in the fall season as he bested Shaun Bussert (Ball State), 6-0, 7-5 in the first round of Flight A singles. Reichelt defeated Jeff Rutherford (Eastern Illinois), 6-4, 6-3, to move to the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Also in Flight A singles, sophomore Filip Miljevic outplayed Alex Lau of Valparaiso, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round of competition. Miljevic went on to secure a spot in the quarterfinals after beating Gregory Sosa (IUPUI), 6-1, 6-2.
In Flight B, freshman Skip Span defeated Matyas Hilgert of Eastern Illinois, 6-3, 6-3, in first round play. Span went up against Jorge Yunes (IUPUI), winning 6-2, 6-3, and will continue in the quarterfinals. Senior Daniel Tobar lost his first match to Zane Smith of Ball State, 5-7, 7-5, 1-0(10). Tobar dropped into the consolation bracket where he won over Butler's Brandon Bayliss in a three-set match, 2-6, 7-5, 1-0(7).
Junior Xavier Riart-Ferrer will join his other teammates in the quarterfinals as he grabbed two wins Friday. His first win was against Blake Douglass (Indiana St.), 6-1, 6-2. Riart-Ferrer then went on to beat Taylor Tunis of IUPUI, 6-2, 6-1, in Flight C of singles play.
Newcomer Micah LeMoine advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Ball State Invitational after he bested Jesus Diaz of IUPUI, 6-0, 6-1, in Flight D. Junior Michael Hobson dropped both of his opening singles matches.
In doubles play, the Redbirds continued their success as all three doubles teams went undefeated. In flight A, Tobar and Span won, 8-4, against Eastern Illinois's Matyas Hilgert and Jordan Nestrud. During Flight B play, the tandem of Miljevic and Reichelt bested another Eastern Illinois' team of Brendan Pontow and Jeff Rutherford, 8-3. LeMoine and Riart-Ferrer defeated Pip Rehg and Byron Wowchuk (Wright State), 8-4, in Flight C action.
"It was a great day of competition," said head coach Cris James. "Winning a lot of matches has been encouraging for the team. In competition, I have noticed the guys improving and doing the things we talked about in practice. It is great to be winning and improving at the same time.
"What I have told the guys already is that we can't stop now we have to keep shooting for the top and hopefully we can keep this momentum rolling for tomorrow. One thing I really like about the newcomers is that they seem to be 'gamers' - they come out big and deliver in competition."
