April 20, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
For the second-consecutive week, Illinois State men’s tennis player Timon Reichelt was selected as the Missouri Valley Conference Athlete of the Week Tuesday, according to the league office. Reichelt has been stellar as of late and continued his solid play this week, posting a perfect, 4-0, combined record as the Redbirds (14-7, 5-0 MVC) captured the MVC regular-season title Sunday.
In ISU’s win against Creighton on Apr. 17, Reichelt teamed up with Matej Zlatkovic at No. 2 doubles and defeated Kyle Obermeier and Gabe Nagy, 8-2. Reichelt clinched a victory for the Redbirds after he scored the fourth match point on the No. 2 singles court with a, 6-2, 6-3, win against Billy Paluch.
In Sunday’s match against Drake, Reichelt and Zlatkovic had a decisive victory on the No. 2 doubles court, defeating Jean Erasmus and Jonathan Hadash, 8-4, to clinch the doubles point. Reichelt capped off the weekend with a win against Mauricio Ballivian, one of the top players in the Valley. The junior won an intense match at No. 1 singles against Ballivian, who entered the match with a 27-9 overall record and a 4-0 conference mark. Reichelt now holds a 22-12 singles mark and a 19-9 doubles record.
Reichelt was named the Valley Athlete of the Week last Tuesday (Apr. 13) and is the fourth Redbird this spring to be given the honor. Filip Miljevic received the honor on Feb. 2, and Skip Span and Alexander Pelaez received back-to-back selections on Mar. 23, and Mar. 30, respectively.
The Redbirds return to action this weekend at the State Farm MVC Tennis Championship in Wichita, Kan. ISU has earned a first-round bye and will face the winner of Friday’s Southern Illinois and Creighton matchup. The Redbirds will take the court Saturday, Apr. 24, at 2 p.m. for their match at the Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex.
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