Oct. 28, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's tennis team will compete for the last time in its fall season this weekend in Kalamazoo, Mich., at the Vredevelt Invitational, hosted by Western Michigan University.
The tournament consists of 16 teams, with one round of doubles, four eight-player singles draws, and one four-player round robin singles draw.
With the fall season coming to a close, head coach Cris James believes there's still room for his squad to improve.
"Our season so far has been decent, with some guys playing really well and some playing just okay," James said. "We need to get better, but we've had some good showings."
The Redbirds head into this tournament a bit banged up, so the lineup will be shuffled. Sophomore Alexander Pelaez and junior Skip Span will only be competing in singles this weekend, and senior Timon Reichelt will only be competing in doubles with freshman Mya Smith-Dennis. Seniors Filip Miljevic and Matej Zlatkovic, and Smith-Dennis will compete in both singles and doubles.
James believes that this tournament will challenge his team.
"This is going to be a very tough tournament with a lot of the best mid-majors from the area," James said. "Hopefully we can end our fall season on a good note."
Friday will feature only doubles matches, which begin at 2 p.m. CST at the West Hills Athletic Club in Kalamazoo, Mich.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
