April 24, 2009
Final Stats
OMAHA, Neb. -
Freshman Micah LeMoine lead the Illinois State men's tennis team in a, 4-0, victory over Bradley, Friday in the opening round of the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championships. LeMoine and doubles partner Skip Span secured the doubles point for the team, as both Redbirds won their individual matches at the Koch Family Tennis Center in Omaha, Neb.
In No. 3 doubles, the duo of Filip Miljevic and Xavier Riart-Ferrer defeated Evgeny Samoylov and Richard Robertson, 8-4, while LeMoine and Span bested Michel Macara-chvili and Mitch Osborne at the No. 2 position, 8-6.
In singles, LeMoine took charge at the No. 6 position, defeating Osborne, 6-1, 6-0, for his second win this season over the Bulldog. Michael Hobson came from behind to win over Robertson, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3), at the No. 5 spot, as Span topped Samoylov, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, in No. 3 singles.
Flights 1, 2 and 4 went unfinished in singles, as the Redbirds won three-consecutive matches and the overall outcome was decided. With the win, ISU improves to 9-11 overall and a 4-3 mark in the conference.
"The guys stepped up and played well under pressure today," said head coach Cris James. "I was impressed with how both Micah and Skip thrived under pressure in doubles and were able to carry that momentum over into their singles matches. I was also pleased with Michael's performance in singles. He was down 5-2, 5-2, in both sets and fought back for the win.
"Saturday's match against Drake will be completely different; the odds are against us. We'll have to raise our game and go out there focused on getting things done."
Illinois State returns to action Saturday against the No. 1 tournament seed, Drake, in the semifinal round of the 2009 MVC Tennis Championships. First serve is set for 11 a.m.
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