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Illinois State University Athletics

ISU Men's Tennis Gets 6-1 Victory Over Eastern Illinois

Jan. 29, 2009

Results

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Illinois State's men's tennis teamed moved past Eastern Illinois for a 6-1 victory Thursday, Jan. 29, at Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill. The `Birds went 3-0 in doubles competition to earn the doubles' point and won five-of-six matches in singles play during the Redbirds' home opener.

The match marked the first collegiate dual-play for Skip Span, Micah LeMoine and Timon Reichelt. All three contributed to the match's success.

Beginning with doubles, Illinois State dominated the Panthers, taking victories at all three spots. Senior Daniel Tobar and Span defeated Jeff Rutherford and Vuk Milicevic, 8-2. Reichelt and Michael Hobson posted an 8-3 win over Jordan Nestrud and Matyas Hilgert. LeMoine and Filip Miljevic closed out the doubles with a victory against Jamie Firth and Drew Grimaldi, 8-1.

The Redbirds won five-of-six singles matches on the day. Miljevic defeated Rutherford in a two-set match, 6-2, 6-0. Reichelt overcame Nestrud, 6-2, 6-3, while Span topped Milicevic, 6-3, 6-2. Tobar kept the winning streak alive as he bested Hilgert, 6-2, 6-2. Hobson outplayed Firth in two sets to secure a 6-2, 6-1 win. Grimaldi earned the Panther's only point when LeMoine forfeited the No. 6 spot for time constraints, as the Redbirds had already won the match.

"I was very happy with our performance," said head coach Cris James. "We played well and won pretty convincingly. The two main things we focused on were getting off to a good start in doubles, and mental toughness - just being consistently solid throughout the matches. We did those two things very well. However, I was a little nervous; we have some things that we need to keep improving on, so I didn't know how the guys were going to perform.

"We showed a lot of confidence, and I'll still be emphasizing about playing with confidence and being mentally tough, so those are key things that will help us on Saturday against Illinois-Chicago. I think if we come out and take the doubles again, and perform how we did, I feel good about us."

On Saturday, Jan. 31, the Redbirds will host Illinois-Chicago at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill. The match was originally scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m., but has been pushed back until 2:30 p.m.

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