March 23, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State men's tennis player Skip Span was named the Missouri Valley Conference Athlete of the Week by the league office Tuesday. Span's solid play over the weekend helped him collect his second career MVC Athlete of the Week award.
Span was perfect on the singles court this past Friday and Saturday. He defeated No. 11 Illinois' Connor Roth, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (10-5), in a hard-fought match at No. 6 singles on Friday. The Redbird sophomore continued his solid play at home on Saturday, cruising past Toledo's Bryant Dudzik, 6-1, 6-3, at the No. 5 singles spot. His win helped Illinois State defeat the Rockets, 6-1, and improve to 8-6 on the season.
“I am happy for Skip,” head coach Cris James said. “He has not played as well as he would have liked to this season, but he seems to be turning the corner and getting his confidence back. It was a good weekend for him and I am happy for him to receive the honor.”
Span received his first MVC Athlete of the Week selection in 2009 as a freshman. He finished his rookie campaign with a stellar 22-13 singles record and currently has 34 career singles wins at Illinois State.
The athlete of the week selection is the second this season for the Redbirds. Filip Miljevic was also received an MVC Athlete of the Week selection on Feb. 2, 2010.
The Redbirds return to action this weekend against No. 31 Denver and Air Force. ISU will travel to Denver on Saturday with the first match scheduled for 3 p.m., CT. The men's team will take on the Falcons of Air Force on Sunday in Colorado Springs, Colo., beginning at 11 a.m., CT.
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