Sept. 15, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
After winning three titles at the tournament last year, the Illinois State men's tennis team looks to continue its success as the Redbirds begin their fall campaign at the Louisville Fall Invitational on Friday in Louisville, Ky. The matches will begin at 9 a.m., at Louisville's Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.
Head coach Cris James is excited to get the season under way.
"We are definitely looking forward to competing this weekend," James said. "We're excited to see how everyone will compete in real match play."
The Redbirds will take the court behind the leadership of seniors Timon Reichelt, Filip Miljevic and Matej Zlatkovic, all of whom were All-Missouri Valley Conference selections last season.
James is hoping that the trio will continue to improve.
"I really want to see them compete well and take ownership of what they're working on and try to get better," James said. "Just because they are seniors doesn't mean they still can't improve. They've been working hard in practice and hopefully that will carry over into competition as well."
Sophomore Alexander Pelaez, the reigning Valley Freshman of the Year, and junior Skip Span will also be competing for the `Birds this weekend. Freshman Mya Smith-Dennis will not be competing due to an injury.
James is going into this tournament with an open mind.
"Although we were successful in this tournament last season, I have no expectations for this weekend," James said. "I'm guessing we won't be at our peak yet, but hopefully our guys will prove me wrong. We've got a lot of experience on this team, and our guys know how to go out and get the job done."
Reichelt, Miljevic and Pelaez all took home titles from last year's Louisville Fall Invitational. Reichelt was victorious in Flight-A singles, while Miljevic won Flight-B singles. Pelaez teamed up with Miljevic to win in Flight-A doubles.
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