Oct. 15, 2009
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -
Day One Results in PDF Format 
Illinois State men’s tennis had a stellar day at the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships, posting a record of 8-0 after the first two rounds of qualifying. Michael Hobson and Skip Span put together dominant performances to help the Redbirds make a statement on the first day of the regional tournament. Head coach Cris James is excited about Thursday’s results.
“I’m happy with every point we scored (Thursday),” James said. “We won and we did it in a convincing fashion. Skip was awesome. Hobson was awesome. Overall, we had a good day.”
In the first round, Span defeated Jay Jones of Cleveland State, 6-0, 6-2. He continued with aggressive play and later beat Detroit-Mercy’s Chris Cheung, 6-1, 6-1. Hobson also had success against a Detroit-Mercy player, Chris Didio, not allowing him to score a single game point and winning, 6-0, 6-0. In the second round, Hobson faced off against Yannick Goossens, who was ranked third in qualifying singles. Hobson played a tough match and won, 6-4, 6-1.
“Michael beat a solid guy who was seeded,” James said. “He played a complete match and sustained a high level of play. It’s a big deal and a great win for him.”
Xavier Riart-Ferrer, Micah LeMoine, and Matej Zlatkovic were the other Redbirds who posted wins in Thursday’s competition. Zlatkovic received a no. 4 ranking in the qualifying draw and had a bye in the first round. The five ISU players who had matches Thursday will play in the final round of qualifying on Friday morning. James would like to see his team carry their high level of play into Friday.
“We’re starting to play every point and fight for those points,” James said. “Without exception, that showed in our matches. Overall, we will try to do the same on Friday.”
The Redbirds will play at 8 a.m. on Friday, beginning with the final round of qualifying. The first round of the main draw will begin at 11 a.m. at Michigan’s Varsity Tennis Center. Live stats and video of all the action is available by following the link below.
Live STATS & VIDEO – ITA Midwest Regionals
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