March 18, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. - Head coach Cris James and the Illinois State men’s tennis team will take on the Fighting Illini of Illinois Friday afternoon at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Urbana, Ill., at 3 p.m. James expects tough competition Friday against the Illini but is confident in his team.
“Friday will be an opportunity for a big win against a real good team,” James said. “It will be tough to win there but we are capable of competing with Illinois.”
The Redbirds hold a 7-5 record in the spring. Last week, Illinois State sat at the No. 70 spot on the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Before receiving a spot among the top-75 teams earlier this month, the Redbirds had not appeared in the rankings in nearly nine years. However, after recent losses to No. 47 Indiana and No. 34 Wisconsin, the Redbirds fell from the top-75.
Juniors Matej Zlatkovic and Timon Reichelt have given the Redbirds several wins at the No. 1 doubles spot. The pair has won seven of its last ten matches and leads the team with a 7-3 record. Overall, Illinois State holds a 21-15 doubles record in match play.
“The doubles point will be huge for us on Friday,” James said. “If we can win that point it will give us confidence heading into singles. In order to win the point, we will need all three doubles teams to show up and play hard.”
Friday’s matchup with Illinois will be the ‘Birds fourth Big-Ten contest this season. The Illini are currently ranked No. 11 on the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. They have three players ranked in the top 100 in singles.
“For us, we have to get over Illinois’ reputation,” James said. “The key for us will be to go in and compete together, as a team.”
Live stats of Friday’s match against Illinois can be found at the link below.
LIVE STATS
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