Feb. 27, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's tennis team continues its spring campaign Saturday in East Lansing, Mich., as the Redbirds compete at Michigan State. The match is slated for 9 a.m. CST at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
"We face another tough team Saturday," said head coach Cris James. "This is another opportunity for us to improve. We've faced teams like MSU already, hopefully we'll be able to step up and rise to the occasion. The one thing I know about MSU is that they always play with a lot of intensity. For us to be competitive, we have to match their level. We have to focus on making good decisions on the court."
Michigan State possesses a 9-1 record on the season. Leading the Spartans in singles at the No. 5 slot is Ronnie Hulewicz, with an 8-1 dual singles record. As a doubles team, John Allare and Jason Norville currently hold a perfect 8-0 dual record at the No. 2 position.
Illinois State competed against the Spartans during the fall season at the Indiana Hoosier Classic and the Northwestern Invitational. At the Hoosier Classic, freshman Skip Span advanced to the singles' quarterfinals of the Crimson Flight after defeating Austin Brooks in a three-set match, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Junior Xavier Riart-Ferrer was topped by Jason Norville, 6-4, 6-2, in the singles' Hoosier Flight.
While at the Northwestern Invitational, senior Daniel Tobar advanced into the second round of singles play, after beating Clark Richardson in super tiebreaker, 4-6, 7-6, (10-8), in Flight B singles. Sophomore Filip Miljevic fell, 6-4, 5-7, (10-7), to the No. 7 tournament seed, Hulewicz, in Flight A singles.
Illinois State has not competed against the Spartans in a dual match since 1996, when MSU grabbed the 7-0 victory in East Lansing.
The `Birds will travel to Louisiana over spring break to take on Louisiana-Lafayette and Southeastern Louisiana. The match against Louisiana-Lafayette is set for Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m., in Lafayette, La., while the match-up against Southeastern Louisiana will begin at 2 p.m., Thursday, March 12, in Hammond, La.
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