March 6, 2010
Final Stats
The Illinois State men's tennis team lost to No. 43 Indiana, 7-0, Saturday at the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington, Ind. Head coach Cris James and the Redbirds are unhappy with the result but know Saturday's match is an opportunity to progress as a team.
"We are disappointed with the outcome of Saturday's match," James said. "But we were able to keep the match competitive. We came out and got the win at No. 3 doubles, but they were very aggressive and fast at No. 1 and No. 2. In situations like that we will learn to fight back and keep the pressure on them."
The Redbirds were unable to gain a single point for the first time since their 7-0 loss to Nebraska on Jan. 16. However, ISU did push several of its singles matches to a third set.
"In singles, we did a lot better job of playing aggressively," James said. "Realistically, we had a chance to win the match but it would've helped if we had won the doubles point to start. We just need to realize that we are a good team and we have the ability to compete with top-50 teams. We have to have the right mindset heading into it."
The Redbirds will return to action Thursday, Mar. 11, when they travel to Mobile, Ala., to take on the Jaguars of South Alabama. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
