April 3, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State women's tennis team is set to continue its Missouri Valley Conference competition with a match against Northern Iowa on Friday, April 4 at 2 p.m., and a match against Drake on Saturday, April 5 at 1 p.m. The Redbirds are currently fourth in the conference with an 8-8 overall record and a 2-1 MVC mark.
Head coach Chris Hoover, requires peak performances from his student-athletes in order to secure victories over these teams.
"Northern Iowa was a spoiler for us last year and cost us a chance at second place in the MVC tournament, so there is a little bit of payback for us" said Hoover. "Northern Iowa has always been a good team, but they are getting tougher and their win over Drake proves it, but both teams will be tough competition. In order for us to be successful, we will need to play as well as we did against Indiana State."
The Panthers currently hold a 9-5 overall mark and are 1-0 in the MVC. The Panthers earned their first conference win against Drake, 4-3, last weekend, placing them atop the conference standings.
The Panthers are lead by three student-athletes, who each have been nominated as MVC Athletes of the Week. Both Meghana Paritala and Sampada Kanade hold an 11-13 record, at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions respectively. Carolina Hannes is the most recent MVC Athlete of the Week, with a 16-9 overall mark, winning seven of her last 10 matches. In the last six contests against the Panthers, the `Birds have won five.
Drake has a match set against Indiana State for the Friday before the competition with the Redbirds, however, the Bulldogs currently hold a 7-10 overall record and a 1-1 MVC mark.
Veronkia Leszayova leads the Bulldogs at No. 1 singles, with a 11-6 dual match record, and has teamed with Sarah Plowman to go 8-4 at No. 1 doubles. Kari Sloboth has also been a big contributor in dual match singles this year, with a 12-5 record. In the past four years, the `Birds have faced Drake six times and come out with the win each time.
