Oct. 16, 2011
COLUMBUS, Ohio -
Alexander Pelaez and Tuomas Manner were defeated in the quarterfinals of doubles play at the Stickney Tennis Center Sunday. The loss completed Illinois State Univeristy's participation in the tournament.
Pelaez and Manner were beat by Michigan State's Shaun Bernstein and Evan King, 8-5.
Head Coach Cris James was pleased with Pelaez and Manner's effort.
"Alex and Tuomas did great out there," said James. "They did all the things they were supposed to do, the other team just played really well. It was a very high quality match from both sides and when that happens in doubles, it's basically going to come down to 1 or 2 points, which is exactly what happened."
James believes the tournament helped the team progress, overall.
"I think a couple of our younger guys definitely made some significant progress this weekend," said James. "Alex and Tuomas did well in doubles again which was good to follow up the All-American and prove to themselves and everybody else, that it wasn't a fluke."
The 'Birds will continue to strive towards their ultimate goal of winning conference.
"We still have a long way to go before I feel we're going to be really ready to try to win our conference in the spring," said James. "We have a lot of time before that though, so if we continue to make progress like we did this weekend, then I think we can get to where we need to be."
The Redbirds will be back in action in the Northwestern Invitational, completing their fall season. Play is set to begin Friday.
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