April 24, 2010
Final Stats
WICHITA, Kan. -
The Illinois State men's tennis team advanced to the final match of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship after defeating Southern Illinois, 4-0, Saturday afternoon at the Crestview Country Club in Wichita, Kan. The Redbirds own the No. 1 seed in the tournament and will face Wichita State in Sunday's final match beginning at 2 p.m.
"We played well overall [Saturday]," head coach Cris James said. "We were a little unsure in doubles but in singles we were able to take it up a notch."
Illinois State defeated Southern Illinois, 7-0, when they squared off during a regular-season match on Apr. 3. In Saturday's 4-0 victory, Filip Miljevic and Skip Span cruised past SIU's Orhan Spahic and Anton Leonenko, 8-1, on the No. 3 court. Alexander Pelaez and Michael Hobson secured the doubles point for the Redbirds with an 8-6 win over Brandon Florez and Chikara Kidera.
Illinois State collected three singles points at the No. 2, 4 and 5 courts to capture a Redbird win. Span was victorious over Kidera, 6-2, 6-2, at the No. 4 position. Senior Xavier Riart-Ferrer defeated Southern Illinois' Leonenko, 6-1, 6-0, on court No. 5 and Pelaez pushed his win streak to eight with a victory over Falk De Beenhouwer, 6-3, 6-1, at the No. 2 court.
ISU has won its last seven matches and holds a 15-7 record this season. The Redbirds will play Wichita State for the MVC Championship Sunday afternoon and attempt to be the first team in Illinois State's history to win both the regular-season title and the MVC Championship. The winner of the MVC Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament this May in Athens, Ga., beginning May 20.
"We'll have to be aggressive in doubles against Wichita State," James said. "There will be a little more pressure in [Sunday's] match, but we're definitely excited and pumped up about it. It will be a tough match, but we're prepared and we know we have a chance to win."
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, TRC gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
