Jan. 22, 2011
MVC Individual Championships Results in PDF Format
DES MOINES, Iowa. - The Illinois State men's tennis team sent four singles competitors through to the finals of their respective flights and went undefeated in doubles action in day two of the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships Saturday at the Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
In singles play, senior Timon Reichelt squeaked past Southern Illinois' Adam Fabik, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the finals of the first flight. Sophomore Alexander Pelaez made short work of Falk DeBeenhouwer of Southern Illinois in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-1, in the second flight. In the fourth flight, senior Filip Miljevic ousted Wichita State's David Cavalcanti, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), and freshman Tuomas Manner dropped Creighton's Gabe Nagy in the fifth flight in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-1.
Senior Matej Zlatkovic and freshman Mya Smith-Dennis were the only Redbirds to fall in singles play Saturday. Zlatkovic fell to Wichita State's Matheus Periera in the third flight, 7-6 (3), 6-3, and Smith-Dennis fell to Southern Illinois' Orhan Spahic in the sixth flight, 6-3, 6-4.
In doubles action, the Redbirds dominated their competition. Reichelt and Pelaez defeated Drake's Mauricio Ballivian and Anis Ghorbel, 8-4, before defeating Jorge Cavero and Brandon Florez of Southern Illinois, 8-6, in the first flight. Zlatkovic and Manner handled Jean Erasmus and Robert Goodman of Drake, 8-4, before defeating Southern Illinois' DeBeenhouwer and Adam Fabik, 9-8 (2), in the second flight. In the third flight, Miljevic and Smith-Dennis defeated Cesar Bracho and James McKie of Drake, 8-6, and Arthur Romanet and Juan Cuadrado of Bradley, 8-4.
Head coach Cris James was impressed with his squad's performance in both singles and doubles.
"We were really good for the most part," James said. "We showed a lot of toughness today, and were really dominant in doubles. Timon and Filip really battled through their matches today, and that's what you expect out of seniors. Some of our guys ran up against some tough competitors, but I was pleased with the way we played as a whole."
With titles on the line Sunday, James expects his team to be ready to play.
"We need to be tough," James said. "All of our matches should be pretty close. We need to start fast in doubles, and we really need to bear down in singles. Close matches always come down to a point or two, and we need to stay confident and capitalize on our opportunities."
Sunday marks the final day of the MVC Individual Championships. Play resumes Sunday morning at the Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
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