Feb. 6, 2009
Results
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -
The Illinois State men's tennis team dropped its first match of the season to the Purdue Boilermakers, 6-1. It was a bitter sweet reunion for head coach Cris James, as sophomore Timon Reichelt earned the only point for the Redbirds, Friday at the Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
In singles action, Reichelt grabbed the only victory for the Redbirds at the No. 2 spot over Branko Kuzmanovic, 7-5, 7-6. Sophomore Filip Miljevic lost in three sets against Slavko Bijelica, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, at the No. 1 position. Freshman Skip Span also lost in a three-set match against Robert Cabrini, 6-2, 2-6, 1-0.
Senior Daniel Tobar was defeated by Eric Ramos, 6-0, 6-3, at the No. 4 spot. P.J. Rose beat Michael Hobson 6-4, 6-1, while Micah LeMoine was outplayed by Paul Foley, 6-1, 6-1 to round out the singles competition.
"We had some chances to win at the top three positions," said James. "Filip and Skip both lost in three sets. We didn't bring our best tennis to all six positions. There are some things we have to adjust. We played hard and put up a decent fight, Purdue was playing really well."
The Redbirds were swept in all three doubles matches. Tobar and Span fell, 8-3, to Bijelica and Griff Nienberg at the top of the line-up, marking their first loss of the season as a doubles team. Kuzmanovic and Rose topped Reichelt and Miljevic, 8-4, in the No. 2 doubles, while Hobson and LeMoine fell to Foley and Ramos, 8-3.
"Purdue was playing aggressive and set the tone for the matches," added James. "We were competitive, but we weren't able to get the momentum in favor. They [Purdue] were playing at a top level.
"We have to start fresh for Saturday against Arkansas, and get after it. We have what it takes to win against the bigger schools. We've just got to believe that and keep our confidence level up."
The Redbirds are set to play nationally ranked No. 47 Arkansas Saturday, at 2:30 p.m. ET, at the Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
