April 7, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. - Matej Zlatkovic and the Illinois State men's tennis team will square off against the Bradley Braves Thursday, Apr. 8, beginning at 11 a.m., at the Evergreen Racquet Club. The Redbirds enter Thursday's match with a 10-7 mark this season and are 1-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Zlatkovic is one of three Redbirds who are on a three-match win streak in singles. Zlatkovic, Alexander Pelaez and Timon Reichelt have won singles matches against opponents from SIU, Air Force and Toledo. Pelaez sports an 11-5 dual-match singles record this spring and is a perfect 6-0 at the No. 2 spot.
"Bradley is our rival and it's a big conference match," head coach Cris James said. "We've got to be ready for them and we have to take care of business in conference matches. I like our chances if we can go in and play to our potential. "
Illinois State has won three of its last four matches, including a 7-0 sweep against Southern Illinois last Saturday in the first conference match of the season. Thursday's dual will be the second MVC match for the Redbirds, who are one of only two teams that are unbeaten in conference play. Wichita State holds a 2-0 conference record and matches the Redbirds with a 10-7 overall mark.
"At this point in the season we want to stay sharp, healthy and fresh," James said. "We want to be consistently performing well and competing to keep our confidence up. I feel like that is where we are at and we are looking good. Everyone on the team is looking forward to these next two matches and knows how important they are."
Bradley enters the match with a 5-11 record. The Braves have lost their last three matches, including a 4-3 loss in their MVC-opener against Southern Illinois.
Thursday's outing is the fifth home match of the season for Illinois State. The Redbirds have benefited from their home-court advantage, only giving up a total of only three match points and winning all four of their home contests this season.
The match was originally scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., at the Redbirds' outdoor home, the Gregory Street Tennis Courts. However, because of cooler weather in the area, the match has been moved indoors to the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill., and will now start at 11 a.m. Live Stats of all the action can be found at the link below
LIVE STATS
The Redbirds will continue conference play this weekend when they take on Wichita State Saturday, Apr. 10, at 11 a.m., in Wichita, Kan.
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